The Slumbering Beast
by Kissme007
Summary: Hermione Granger is out to prove that third time is the charm and James Potter in one randy wizard. Old magic, mayhem, orgasms and a lot more. How will the two deal with all of it and more importantly, will Hermione be able to understand the consequences of her miscalculations or will it be too late? Read and find out :P
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note - Please Read.**

Before you all read this, please not that I'd written this more than a year back and I'm currently working on another J&H (I cant have enough of them :P) which I don't intend to post until I've completed the full first draft of it. Meanwhile, I decided to upload this since it had been getting wasted in my doc files and though there's only one chapter, I might continue with this cuz I like the starting :P

But please keep in mind that updates will be extremely sporadic.

Thank you (in advance) all for your patience

 **Disclaimer -** I don't own Harry Potter and the characters mentioned in the series, nor am I making any money from writing fan fiction.

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CHAPTER ONE

 _It started half a century back, when I was still in Hogwarts. Back then we had no idea that our world would turn out this way. We just immersed ourselves in magic and Hogwarts, not knowing the secrets woven into the grounds of Hogwarts capable of changing our whole lives. Nobody knew what triggered it really. I doubt even Tom was capable of it but eventually he was blamed for what we are today._

 _I admit that even I thought that Tom was the master mind behind it but that couldn't possibly be true, considering the circumstances._

 _See the thing is we all thought, it started when Tom was born, but by then it was already too late. I later realised that the trigger was Kendra Eclairs, now you might wonder that who she is and it is true that not many people know her but she gave birth to one of the greatest wizard alive - Albus Percival Dumbledore. And just thirty-one years before Dumbledore was born, something happened to Kendra that changed her life and she was captured by Pistacio Dumbledore and later rescued by his younger brother, Percival Dumbledore. This spectacular event plays such a colossal role in the wizarding history that I wonder how we could have missed it but miss we did and we still regret it._

Hermione closed her journal with a sigh. She leaned back and stretched her arms releasing a wide yawn.

She looked at the clock on the wall. It was time to go back and change the future. She wondered if she should be feeling something more than weariness but well it was the third time she was going back. Somewhere along the way she had lost what gave her hope, what made her dream, what made her _feel._ Now it was as if she was just going through the motions because all said and done, she really couldn't stop since she was the only one left to carry out what they had all started almost eight and a half decades back.

She took out the time turner from her chest of drawers, attached it to the accelerator and powered up the engine by pouring all her magic in it.

She wondered how far she should go this time, last time she had arrived in 1850, exactly thirty-one years before Dumbledore was born but still she hadn't been able to stop it. maybe this time she shouldn't go further back in time … much. Just enough to ... yes that should suffice, Hermione nodded to herself.

She finished feeding the machine her magic but this time unlike the previous attempts, she gave it just one-fifth of her magic, enough to send her maximum a few centuries back. Hermione waited and then frowned. The magic seem to have been depleted but the machine was still in its' initialising stage, which meant it required more magic. Well that was weird, but Hermione didn't particularly mind. Sometimes machines malfunctioned a little when used alongside magic so she just gave another fifth of her magic.

The same thing happened again and Hermione was starting to get a little worried. Once the machine started, it was not possible to stop it unless she was willing to lose all the magic she gave permanently and that was not happening. So Hermione went with her last strategy, which she fondly refereed to as the 'Potter-Syndrome Strategy'. She decided to go all out and poured all her magic into the machine, knowing how reckless it was. But then again, that's why the strategy was named so. And she waited. The machine finally seemed to take its fill.

 _And swish-bruiiing-khownk-bam!_ She was back!

"Lily ..." James muttered, his voice husky with pleasure. He grabbed her waist and hauled her towards him to take her mouth.

Lily whimpered, sometimes James was a little too rough with her but somehow she couldn't help but moan in pleasure. He always knew what set her off. Just when she was about to reach her peak, there was a large crash and _bang!_ Something or rather someone literally appeared from what looked like a blackhole and dropped in front of them.

"What the fuck?" James growled. He quickly zipped his fly and looked at Lily to make sure she was decent before approaching the squirming bundle covered in a tangible layer of magic. He had never seen something like it before. As he drew nearer, it twitched before letting out a blood curling scream. He cursed before quickly casting a silencing charm around the room and waited until he or she stopped screaming.

It seemed as if the the blanket made of magic was being absorbed by the person. He watched fascinated, as it slowly revealed a girl who looked to be the same age as him. She still twitched occasionally as she absorbed the remaining quarter of the blanket. Since she had almost stopped screaming, just occasional whimpers, he walked closer to her and bent down to hesitatingly touch the exposed skin. It was almost as if his hand had a mind of its own and just as he touched her, the remaining bit of blanket stopped and then slithered towards him!

He cursed and drew back, his every nerve on fire and not because of pain. He groaned and gritted his teeth to stop from groaning in pleasure.

 _Dammit!_ He did not like what the blasted blanket was doing to him. Clenching his fists as another wave of pleasure hit him, stronger than the first, he shut his eyes and willed his body under control. His neck corded with the effort it took but he somehow managed to stop himself from reaching his peak.

James released a sigh and opened his eyes to find himself looking into the sparkling chocolate coloured eyes of the girl who was looking at him with twitching lips, almost as if she knew what he was feeling. His neck grew warm as she kept staring at him, her eyes laughing at him daring him to say it out loud.

James frowned at her, and opened his mouth to say something when there was one final pulse of magic and this time he was unable to control the feeling zipping through him and fell to his knees, his face red. This time it was pain and it fucking hurt. He couldn't stop the groan and slowly opened his eyes, which he did not realise were shut because of the pain and almost growled at the sight in front of him.

The witch, and he was assuming that with this much magic the girl had to be a witch, arched her back, threw her head back and moaned in pleasure. He stared transfixed at the sight in front of him. It looked like she was almost close to an orgasm herself. With a drawn out sigh, the witch opened her eyes clouded with desire and something else and looked straight at him.

James swallowed, his throat suddenly dry at the sight in front of him. They looked at each other for a few seconds before someone cleared their throat. James looked at Lily, who was frowning at the witch disapprovingly. The mystery witch on the other hand looked back unabashedly and even winked at her causing Lily to splutter. James' chest rumbled with laughter but he swallowed it down since he knew Lily wouldn't appreciate it at the moment.

"Hi I'm Hermione Granger, it's nice to meet you. Sorry to disturb you while you were in the middle of getting some ..." the witch stood up brushing off the dust from her robe and introduced herself while grinning at both of them.

This time James couldn't control it so he laughed, delighted at the witch in front of him.

"I have never seen you before in Hogwarts and what do you think you are doing here in the middle of the night?" Lily asked, her tone dripping with censure.

"Well obviously I'm new here considering I literally just popped out of no where and I believe that answers the second part of your question too." Hermione replied, finished with trying to make herself presentable.

James cocked an eyebrow at her attitude but she just shrugged at him and smiled. If they had a problem then too bad, Hermione really couldn't be bothered with it, at least not this time. The first two times she had tried to be all polite with the lot of them but it still got her killed, or tortured and then killed so she wasn't really in the mood for it.

"Hermione right? Well it's too late to go to Dumbledore so you can bunk in with us but you so much as try to harm either me or Lily there, I will snap you pretty little neck and let Lily curse you all she wants. Am I clear?

Hermione looked at James, her eyebrow raised. Well someone sounded frustrated.

"Aye Aye Captain."

James just looked at her blankly but Lily let out a giggle.

"Well it's a muggle thing." Lily replied at James questioning look.

"So I guess the joke's on me huh." James said wryly.

Hermione just winked at him and wondered yet again why he had threatened to harm her in a muggle way first. Well no harm in asking.

"May I know why a wizard who is clearly not a muggle born would resort to a muggle threat rather than magic?"

James grinned at her rakishly "My father made sure I knew ... a few muggle moves to disarm my opponents. I'm quite good with my hands little witch."

Hermione looked at him, "Ah I see, It's quite rare to meet a neanderthal but nevertheless nice to meet you, I'm pleasantly surprised to see you talk more than growl. You have been trained!" Hermione grinned back at him ... with a lot of teeth.

James looked at her speechless before throwing his head back and laughing uproariously. "Well well, what a little firecracker you are. My friends would definitely love you, provided you don't turn out an enemy of course."

"Of course." Hermione replied demurely.

James just smirked.

Lily looked at them, while she did not feel like the girl meant them any harm, her mannerisms seemed so different from the witches in their time and she looked so comfortable considering she was presumably in a totally different surroundings and amongst strangers. Well whatever, she was too tired to think about it anymore. With a yawn she looked at the bed yearningly.

Hermione paused while in the middle of discussing something with James and looked at Lily. "It seems like we better continue with it tomorrow. All of us are too tired to talk anymore."

James looked at Lily and nodded in agreement. He then looked at the bed then at her. There wasn't enough room for an expanded bed.

"Don't worry about me, I'll manage, you go sleep with Lily."

"Don't be silly Miss Granger, you take the bed, I'll manage."

"James. It's okay I said I will manage."

They both looked at each other, measuring each other.

"Fine, you wi-"

"Fine, you wi-"

Both paused and laughed, then looked at the bed

" _Aabra kadabra_ " Hermione muttered and swished hew wand at the bed. It divided itself into two.

"What's that spell? I have never heard of it." James asked, puzzled.

Hermione just laughed and said, "From where I come from, every child knows this spell."

James just shook his head. He found it strange that it hadn't even been an hour since he met Hermione Granger yet he felt so comfortable and at ease around her and he sensed that Lily also felt the same though she seemed a tad unwilling to admit it. There was something really familiar about the witch's magic and it soothed his inner self.

James turned towards the slightly bigger bed with Lily. He turned to check if Hermione needed anything but she was already asleep or at least pretending to be so he got the message - no more talking.

* * *

 _Somewhere in a different time ..._

Tom Marvolo Riddle cracked his spine and looked at the blonde witch in front of him, "You have everything prepared?"

She flinched slightly in fear.

"Yes, my lord."

"Good, you have done much for the cause and as a token of my appreciation, I have … a … gift for you my dear." He hissed.

Her eyes widened, it was unheard of the dark lord to reward any of his followers with anything but a crucio or something similar.

He handed her a vial of green liquid with a silver sheen to it and told her to drink it with a wave from his hand.

She gulped, throat suddenly dry and screwed the bottle open before downing it in one go.

Tom Riddle watched in satisfaction as the woman in front of him suddenly screamed in pain, her eyeballs started spinning widely, spine arched and her mouth gaped open. Soon blood started coming from her nostrils and ears, her voice gone as her body started reshaping itself.

Soon the transformation stopped, only one sound remained...a babe crying.

* * *

"Ummm..."

Hermione moaned as she felt her strength return. It felt good to get a full night's sleep without disturbances.

She looked to see if James and Lily were awake yet or not. She was quite surprised to see them handle her appearance so calmly, unlike the last few times. Just goes to show that time is really like a river, you cause a ripple but the effect might not be the same every time.

She heard deep groan, which by the way caused a strange flutter inside her but she was definitely going to ignore it since it had no place inside _her_ body.

James was looking at the witch who had disrupted his and Lily's 'relaxing-time' with her sudden appearance. _Oh well, you loose some and win some._

"So considering you're still here, I take it that I didn't imagine the whole scene last night."

"Well I hope not since you were in the middle of having sex with your girl friend. It would be quite ... awkward to think about another girl during that." Hermione replied matter-of-factly.

James just shook his head while grinning, she was one heck of a witch.

"Nice to see you're not the shy type."

"Why, you have something against them?"

"No, shy girls just ... bore me." James teased, his voice a deep rumble.

Hermione raised her eyebrow and smiled at the cocky boy in front of her. This James was _vastly_ more entertaining than the James she had encountered previous two times. She wondered why that was. She would have to do some research.

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 **A/N -** Let me know your thoughts :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer -** I don't own Harry Potter and the characters mentioned in the series, nor am I making any money from writing fan fiction.

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Hermione sighed in pleasure. It was so convenient to be in the past. She could spend so much more on her books and potion ingredients and all the other things she wanted to buy. It wasn't as if she didn't have money in her time but everything was just _so_ cheap a few decades back! She was browsing around Flourish and Botts looking for anything that might strike her fancy. After all, she had all the time in the world.

Hermione was just about to turn to another aisle when she heard a few familiar voices. She turned towards the window to see three of her favourite men. She wondered for a second where the fourth one was. He was not quite her favourite because frankly he always … fluctuated. Sometimes he was good and sometimes he was bad, so she couldn't make her mind on whether she wanted to hate the pudgy young man or pity him. Hermione shrugged, _oh well._ This time also, time would tell. Hermione smirked a little at her own little joke.

James was Sirius and the gang about Hermione, the strange little witch he had met last night when he spotted the very witch through a window in Flourish and Botts. He stopped and nudged the boys to take a look.

"She's the one I met last night." James pointed in his deep voice.

"Damn she looks fine. She definitely has the looks like of a firecracker. Let's see if she has the personality for it." Sirius walked off ahead, admiring her curvy figure and long cinnamon coloured curls.

Remus just sighed. Why were his friends so randy all the time. He wished for once they stopped talking about the physical bits of a girl and went for what was inside. Remus paused, then blushed at his own thoughts. _Inside a girl ..._ Maybe his friends weren't the only perverts around.

"Prongs mate, what are we waiting for. Let's go and introduce ourselves to the lovely young lady who sadly met you first." Sirius grinned as he sauntered towards the bookstore.

Hermione was leaning forward on her toes to reach for a book on the upper shelf when she felt a warm body settle behind her with one large hand gripping her waist snuggly. Another reached up to cover her hand and after a soft caress and squeeze of long fingers, went to grab the book she was looking for.

"Anything else you want love?" A husky voice rumbled in her ears causing her to shiver a little..

Really! These boys were too sexy for their own good, Hermione decided while closing her eyes and leaning back against the solid chest behind her. She only gave herself a few seconds to enjoy the sensation before straightening and turning around to look at her 'dog' in shining armer.

"Well, hello there. I don't suppose you offer your lovely hands and warm body to men now, do you?" Hermione drawled gesturing towards a boy on the slightly shorter side also struggling with the same problem she had been facing until recently.

Sirius looked at the witch smirking at him and laughed. She was definitely a surprise. Instead of blushing and floundering like most girls did in his company, she was standing there with a cute smirk and teasing him. Oh James found a gem alright, he thought.

James looked between his friend and the witch and growled softly. For some reason, he didn't like seeing Sirius so close to her and he definitely didn't like how Hermione looked to be enjoying Sirius flirting with her.

Hermione looked away from the flirting Sirius to see a growling James coming their way. She smiled.

"So we meet again and this time you have your fly properly zipped. Nice to see you know how to properly dress in front of a girl now." Hermione winked at him.

James blinked, his anger forgotten. This was the second time she'd surprised him with her candour. The witch was really something. Did she have no shame, not that he was complaining. It was such a refreshing change from the giggling and eyes batting he faced normally. Heck, he even admired her for her straightforward no-bullshit approach.

"Now you've done it love. There's no way in hell you're getting away from us." Sirius laughed wrapping his arm around her. He loved her cheek! He just knew the next few months would be entertaining as fuck. He also didn't miss the slight possessive glint in his friend's eyes as Sirius cozied up to the witch. Things were surely becoming interesting.

Remus was looking at his friends wryly. He had a feeling he was about to get dragged into whatever new scheme the two were planning despite his best efforts. He did agree with Sirius though. The witch had enough sass to get not only one but two of the marauders' attention. He might have been interested had she come equipped with a cock but that was neither here nor there.

"So what brings you boys here?"Hermione smiled stepping away from Sirius.

"Just looking for some books, love. Maybe you can recommend some on the ... naughtier side." Sirius teased.

"Well if that's what you're after, I'm afraid this isn't the right place. I found a little bookshop that might better cater to your specific taste." Hermione laughed.

"And just how would you know where our tastes lie little witch?" James cocked an eyebrow grinning.

Hermione just winked at him. She didn't know what happened but she had been feeling so _happy_ and light ever since she came here. Usually even this time period had some darkness and she was sure that had not changed but something was different. She just couldn't put her finger on it. Hermione knew she was missing just one tiny detail. It felt like it was staring right at her face. But she kept missing it, the more she tried thinking about it. _Oh well._

Hermione was brought out of her musings when she felt a warm hand grab her waist _again._ Seriously what was with these boys and their high handedness.

"C'mon then, lead the way sweetheart. I'm curious to see this shop of yours." She heard James rumble right to her ear making her shiver slightly. If things went on like this, Hermione wasn't confident in her abilities to resist the charms of one James Potter and Sirius Black.

"Oh fuck yes!" Sirius shouted in glee. The shop was every boy's wet dream come true. It had everything from books, to comics, to toys he had only imagined before. Even James and Moony were looking around with slightly glazed eyes and flushed cheeks. How could they have missed this little treasure all this time.

"Hermione, just for this, you've earned the right to become the first female marauder ever." Sirius exclaimed reverently looking at the witch who had brought him absolution. James turned around when she sensed James looking at her. He was eyeing her quite intensely. She wondered what he was thinking.

James just shook his head and stepped closer until there was almost no space between their bodies.

"Have you used any of these toys before Hermione?" James' husky voice whispered as he bent down, surrounding her with his lovely warmth.

Hermione breathed and turned her head sideways to gaze at him. He was looking at her neck like he wanted to devour it. She could feel her body heating up with his proximity. He smelled like musk and all things masculine. Her eyes grew half-lidded.

"Why do you want to know?" She whispered, not taking her eyes away from him.

James almost groaned at the challenge in her eyes and slid his arm to circle her waist,to press her flush against his chest. The other two were busy exploring the shop and so were not paying much attention towards them. James suddenly felt quite daring wondered how far they could take their titillating game. He brought his other hand and slowly moved Hermione's hair exposing her pale and creamy neck. His throat dried up. He really wanted to taste her. He brought his mouth down and slowly let his lips rest on her nape. He didn't do anything else as he waited to see Hermione's reaction.

Hermione moaned softly and closed her eyes as she felt James' lips on her neck. Every nerve had become super sensitive. She leaned back against him, her body becoming pliable, causing James to tighten his arms around her and curse silently. This was getting dangerous and they needed to stop.

They needed to stop, James knew that. But he couldn't control himself. _Just one little taste._ James ghosted his lips over the entire expanse of pale skin visible to his eyes and let his tongue finally caress first softly then with growing pressure. Her skin was slightly salty with a hint of caramel. He didn't even know how that was possible but James quickly became addicted to her taste and smell. With a small groan of surrender, he ground his suddenly hard erection against the small of her back and closed his mouth over a small patch of skin to suck and nibble. Hermione was panting and moaning so deliciously against him that he didn't know if he could stop.

The dark corner they were standing in offered little protection if his friends became curious. They needed to stop. James growled as he felt Hermione grind her hips back against him.

If you don't want me to bend you right now, flip your skirt and fuck that pussy, then you better stop grinding against me witch." James growled. His voice a dark whisper against her heated flesh.

Hermione knew it was getting out of hand but for the life of her, she didn't have the will power to stop. She gasped as she heard him talk. Goosebumps flitted across her arms. People should not have such deep and sexy voice, Hermione decided. It should be outlawed. She slowly opened her eyes to look at James who was clenching and unclenching his hands around her while gritting his teeth. His jaw looked so hard that she couldn't help but reach and lick a small line from his chin to his lips.

James' control shattered and with a muttered curse, he grabbed her hips and pulled her up against him. James didn't even pause as he pushed her against the wall behind them and brought their lips together in a bruising kiss. _Merlin, she tasted divine_ was his immediate thought. James ground his hips against her as Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck, grabbing a fistful of hair and yanking it to position them better.

Oh she definitely wasn't some demure little witch, James thought with renewed pleasure as she kissed him with equal fervour. Their tongues were battling for dominance and hands were exploring whichever body part they could find. It was the most passionate kiss James Potter had ever experienced. His mind went blank and all he could think was the soft body pressed against him. The passionate witch writhing against him finally wrenched her lips from him and before he could protest, she was gliding them down his throat, leaving wet open mouthed kisses as she sucked a path along his neck.

James' hands went under her skirt and gripped her hips as he thrust against her. He moved the collar of her shirt with his nose and bit her right below the collarbone making Hermione moan loudly. Soothing the bite, he licked and sucked between her breasts as his hand made contact with her panties. Hermione's skin felt so smooth and silky against his rough and calloused hands.

Just as he was about to pull her panties down, he heard two pairs of throat clearing ... loudly. James paused as Hermione froze in his arms. He buried his face in her neck, trying to calm himself a little. They broke apart and looked at each other. He couldn't believe he had completely lost track of the time and the place. He looked at Hermione and could see that the same thought was running through her head. He couldn't help but move his eyes down to look at her red mouth and swollen lips. Gods, she looked like his fantasy. He slowed his breathing down, trying not to get further excited. Hermione was also doing the same.

When his pants didn't feel as tight anymore, James turned to look at his two idiot friends. They each had stupid grins on their faces and while Remus was blushing a little, Sirius was busy adjusting his pants and grinning lasciviously at him.

James wondered how long they had been acting like little voyeurs and as if Pads read his mind, he waggled his eyebrows and said. "We were pretty much watching from the start. Moony and I had a bet going on, on how long it might take you to realise you had company but well, things got a little too intense so we had to stop despite my grave regrets. As much as I loved the show,I am not getting banned from this shop. Priorities mate."

He heard Hermione groan while leaning her head against him, making him realise that he still had her against the wall. He quickly brought her down making sure she was fine before turning to glare at Sirius.

"Don't blame me Prongs. You know I'm right and if you could calm down a little I'm sure you would also agree that _nothing_ is more important than making sure we can come here again." Sirius raised his hands in surrender and said seriously, trying to keep the grin off of his face.

Remus shook his head at his friend's incorrigible behaviour. Why couldn't Padfoot keep his mouth shut sometimes. His lack of brain-mouth filter had gotten them all into so much trouble that Remus had seriously considered a sewing spell whenever they were around company.

Hermione sighed. She didn't know what had gotten into her. James had really revved up her engine. Staring at him through lowered lashes as he argued against Sirius and Remus, she couldn't help but think that something was really different about this particular James Potter, in fact all three of them. She frowned wondering again about the fourth member of their group who was missing. Maybe he was already using the excuse of looking after his mother to attend the death eaters meetings. Hermione shrugged, deciding on thinking about it later. Right now her major concern was getting out of this mess.

"Well boys, as fun as it was meeting you all, I'm afraid I have to leave you now. I have some prior engagements that I must attend to." Hermione interjected, stopping all three.

Each had his mouth gaping open in shock as they looked at the composed witch straightening her clothes. James swallowed, trying to come up with something but he was too surprised at her blatant nonchalance about what had happened. He saw Hermione look at him and give a small secret smile as she turned and walked out of the shop.

"Did you guys also hear what I just heard? Did the witch just ga- ... mate, I think I'm in love." Sirius said dreamily.

Remus patted his shoulder as he also stared at the door through which Hermione had just oh so casually sauntered off. He turned to look and James and gulped. He recognised that expression. He'd seen a milder, a muchh milder version of it when James had decided to chase Lily and after what he had just seen, Remus was not surprised to see the same hungry and excited expression on James' face. The witch wouldn't know what hit her ... or maybe this time it would be the other way around. Remus admitted, at least to himself, that the witch might just be out of his friend's league.

* * *

 _Somewhere in a different time._

"Are the preparations ready?" A serpentine voice hissed menacingly.

A whimper was heard as a man brought a small bundle and placed it in front of his lord's feet. He saw the glint of satisfaction in his lord's eyes as he stared at the bundle. Small whimpering could be heard from inside the bundle.

"Good. It is time." The lord's mouth twisted cruelly.

"You know what you have to do. Do not fail me." The Lord warned the man whimpering in fear in front of him.

"Yes my lord." The man whispered as he kissed the hem of his lord's robes.

"The moment you reach, you're to find me. Do not worry about saying anything just offer your mind and the babe and you should be fine. He might _hurt_ you a little but it's nothing that will kill you." The lord hissed, his eyes showing his excitement scaring everyone present in the room.

Their lord rarely showed anything humane on his face and the times he did, it didn't bode well for _anyone._

"Go Wormtail. The clock is ticking." The Dark Lord seemed almost amused as he said this causing Wormtail to gulp in horror. He hoped things went according to plan or he feared even death wouldn't let him escape from his lord's wrath.

He picked up the small bundle and the ancient device and bowed before leaving. He was determined to not fail his lord and he would whatever it took to succeed.

* * *

 **A/N :** Thank for reading, following and reviewing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note** \- Thank you so much to everyone who took some time out of their busy lives to review. They mean a lot to me :)

 **Disclaimer** \- I don't own Harry Potter and the characters mentioned in the series, nor am I making any money from writing Fan Fiction.

* * *

Wormtail held onto the wall to brace himself against the dizziness and nausea he felt swelling up inside of him. He clutched at the bundle and saw two small eyes looking back calmly. He shivered and looked away. There was something so disturbing about seeing such a serene expression on a face so small.

He looked around to see where he was. It was a small alleyway in what appeared to be The Knockturn Alley. Now he only had to make sure he'd arrived in the right time.

* * *

"So how did you your talk with Professor Dumbledore go?" Lily asked curiously.

Hermione and Lily were walking towards the great hall. She had met Lily while on her way back from Dumbledore's. She was so deep in thought that she'd missed the red-head waving at her so she had no choice but to accompany her for lunch. It wasn't as if Hermione didn't like Lily Evans but she had a few things on her mind and she didn't feel like entertaining anyone.

Since this was her first meeting with Dumbledore, she wanted to get a measure on his thoughts. Albus, with his twinkling eyes and the mild mannered grandpa routine grated on her nerves because she could never tell when he was being serious but throughout the years, she had at least become able to discern his surface feelings.. At first she had tried to directly ask what she wanted to know but it wasn't as if she was in any hurry to go back to her time and so Hermione took her time and actually made an attempt to become friends with the headmaster.

Why she had not done so previously could be based on her feelings towards him for what he had done to Harry. Hermione had not appreciated when she had realised how much Dumbledore had tried manipulating and moulding Harry to be the perfect sacrifice. She was fiercely protective of her friend and therefore had had no intentions to make peace with the deceased headmaster. But that was long in past. Hermione had seen much more, was more experienced and had learned to set her feelings aside to protect those she loved - at least for short durations. She had also discovered quite a few things about Albus Dumbledore and she was sure that she would need him to see her as a friend if she wanted to know more.

Albus Dumbledore had many secrets and Hermione Granger was a smart witch, a very smart one in fact and she always learnt from her mistakes. The first time she had been too young, too naive and too involved with the people and too afraid to do anything wrong or to mess with the timeline. After all, she knew all about those who meddled with time and Dumbledore's warning from third year was still there in her head. The second time she did not have enough information to see the bigger picture and was impatient. That is why this time was different. She would not lose this time.

"-ne, Hermione!" Hermione jolted out of her thoughts. She looked at Lily who was getting slightly red in the face due to shouting her name multiple times to get her attention.

"Yes, Lily?"

"You weren't paying any attention to what I was saying, were you?" Lily frowned a little.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I was just thinking about my meeting with Headmaster Dumbledore." Hermione apologised.

Lily instantly became curious. She had always been in awe of the headmaster of Hogwarts. He was considered as the most powerful wizard and she greatly admired him.

"So, how was it? Why did you go to meet him? Did you know him from before? What did he say?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Take a breath Lily." Hermione laughed, looking at the curious girl.

"I can't really go into a lot of details but it went good. No, I didn't know him from before so I was just happy he agreed to meet me but he didn't really say much." Hermione explained.

Lily frowned in disappointment. This didn't give her as much information as she hoped.

"Anyway, we've reached the great hall. This is where we take all our meals along with all the professors and the headmaster." Lily explained gesturing towards the huge majestic doors.

Hermione nodded absently. Hogwarts was really more familiar than her own home, not that she had any intention of letting anyone know here. They opened the door and stepped through. Instantly Hermione was filled with nostalgia. The excited murmuring of almost a thousand students, the clinkering of the cutlery, the smell of warm, freshly cooked food, the great magicked sky above with thousands of floating candles. It all brought her back to the first time she had witnessed the magical hall. She had been so excited and in awe of the huge place. Everywhere she looked, there was magic and it had filled her with wonderment. She could never forget it and so she smiled softly, looking at the majestic sight. Her gaze went towards the Gryffindor table where she would be sitting. Dumbledore had sorted her before and while the hat offered her whatever house she wanted, Hermione didn't care much about it and simply asked Gryffindor was convenience' sake.

"Oh right! I almost forgot. Do you know which house you belong to?' Lily questioned.

Hermione silently gestured towards the red and gold banners making Lily nod approvingly. Her behaviour had changed from when they first met but then again she had caught her and James fucking so maybe that had put the witch on the defensive and Hermione's blasé attitude hadn't helped much. Now that she had a few days to get over her embarrassment, Lily was behaving like a proper head girl who only wanted to help settle the new girl.

Hermione was cynical enough to believe not everything was true. She was just waiting to see how Lily and everyone else reacted to her presence here. She wouldn't change her behaviour and would continue to be nice to everyone but if Lily or anyone else for that matter, gave even a hint that they might like to create some trouble for her with their petty jealousies, then Hermione wouldn't take it silently. She had had enough of being the good little girl who had tried to appease everyone and who didn't want to cause trouble for anyone. Well if any trouble came her way, then Hermione would be more than happy to greet it with a middle finger salute.

"I'm glad the hat decided to put you in Gryffindor. At least you'll have a few familiar faces to keep you company. Thank merlin, he didn't put you in Slytherin." Hermione cocked an eyebrow at Lily's comments. The last one was almost a vicious whisper.

Hermione wasn't really that surprised. While she knew about Snape and Lily, she also knew how unforgiving Lily could be. So, completely disregarding the fact that her once best friend used to be in Slytherin, she now, like all the rest of Gryffindors, saw Slytherins as nothing but trouble of the worst kind.

"Ah, there's Alice. I'll introduce to her. She's a very nice girl and my best friend in -"

Lily was saying something more but she zoned it out. A few seats away from where Lily was pointing sat the three boys she was so fond of.

"It's not something you should be proud of Sirius! And stop preening!" Remus snapped.

"But moony ..." Sirius whined and pouted.

"No, we are not bunking the rest of the week to go and rent an apartment just so we can stay near the shop during the holidays. Just because you came up with some asinine plan does not mean we'll follow you blindly." Remus was arguing heatedly. He refused, for the sake of his argument, to remember the number of times they had done exactly that.

Dammit, he also wanted to go back to the shop but not like this and certainly not live there like what Sirius so desperately wanted.

"Tell him James how stupid he's being." Remus finally asked for help, knowing how hard it was to convince Padfoot when he was being this stubborn.

But James was not even paying any attention to them. He was looking towards the doors with narrowed eyes. His back was ramrod straight, his whole attention seemed to focus there. Remus turned to see what had grabbed his friend's attention so and was not really surprised to see Hermione _and_ Lily together. Nothing in their lives was easy so Remus knew this just had to happen. But Remus had learnt that worrying about such things never did him any good so he would just wait to see how thing progressed. He knew about James and Lily of course. Who didn't know. Their relationship was definitely complicated. Sometimes they were on and sometimes they were off. Off like they hated each other and were sworn enemies. Then he would see them together snogging and spending time together and it would just confuse him again.

What Remus did know was, Lily was a very possessive witch who didn't really like it when other witches expressed their interest towards James and so Remus was right in worrying about what might happen considering what he had witnessed the other day. James and Lily had nothing on the sizzling chemistry between Hermione and James.

He was brought out of his musings as he saw James stand and walk towards Hermione and Lily. Oh this was going to be good. He didn't want to miss it so he nudged Sirius to shut him up and gestured towards the doors. Even Sirius was curious enough to stop moaning about his new found treasure and together they both followed after James.

James stopped, just a few feet away from Hermione. He stared at her closely, trying to see if she was really as unaffected or was just acting. He couldn't really tell for certain but he did spot a tell-tale blush slowly rising up her cheeks. James suddenly smirked. She was affected alright. She was just better at hiding it than he was. He saw her bite her lip and groaned silently, his mind flashing back to when _he_ was doing the same to her soft lips. He really wanted to do that again and so much more.

He looked her neck, trying to spot any of the marks that he knew were there but really didn't want to torture himself further so he slowly dragged his eyes back to her face and blinked. The witch was smirking back at him. She even had the nerve to wink at him as if she knew what he was thinking and how hard it was for him to restrain himself from doing something that might scar the minds of the first and second years. James was starting to genuinely like the witch. Though they hadn't spent much time together, he found himself thinking about her all the time. She made him smile at random times thinking about how much she loved to sass back. James wasn't sure what he was feeling because it was quite different from anything he had ever felt before. Even with Lily he -

Lily ... James had a feeling he was overlooking something. A throat cleared - loudly. He looked away from Hermione to see Lily glaring daggers at him. James couldn't believe he had completely missed Lily. All his attention had been focused on Hermione.

"James Potter!" Lily growled threateningly.

When she had seen James walking towards them, she had thought he was coming to meet her. To her surprise and indignation, she was completely ignored as James kept staring at Hermione. She knew there was something between them from the beginning itself. She remembered how they had ignored her the time Hermione had suddenly appeared. She had forgotten abut it in the wake of things but now she was remembering it quite clearly. _Hermione Granger was trouble_ , Lily decided.

James ran a hand through his hair, making him look even shaggier and smiled at Lily. He wasn't offering any apologies like in past, Lily noticed. James opened his mouth to speak when he was cut off by Hermione.

"It looks like you have something to discuss. I'll leave you to it. Sometimes it's better to explain properly what's on your said softly.

As much as Hermione had enjoyed her kiss with James, she didn't want to start anything when there were three parties involved. It never ended well for anyone. It wasn't too late to break things off if James wanted to continue with Lily. On the other had, If James was interested in pursuing anything between them, she wanted to give him a chance to properly explain things to Lily. Hermione had had enough of misunderstandings and so she hoped that James and Lily got the chance to resolve their saw Hermione walking past him and wanted to stop her but knew that he had to clear things up with Lily. He had no intentions of continuing anything with Lily now. He really liked Hermione's blunt personality and knew she would not appreciate any half-assedness from his side and James really wanted to see where this things was going between them. He liked Lily, but even he had felt their waning attraction to each other and after meeting Hermione, James knew that he wanted something more ... And so he didn't stop Hermione and hoped she would allow him to explain a few things later.

Hermione wasn't really upset as she walked towards the Gryffindor bench. But she was feeling just a little conflicted. She knew she had done the right thing by giving James and Lily time to sort things out but she also knew they were meant for each other. She wasn't hoping for much but still she couldn't tell what was bugging her. Hermione shrugged. She would wait and give James time to explain things to her. Sirius and Remus looked at her with respect. They understood what she had done. Her small gesture spoke much more about her personality and intentions than any words could have. They knew now that she was not here to cause any trouble.

"Hey love, you alright?" Sirius asked softly as he sat down next to her and started filling his own plate. Remus sat opposite to them.

Hermione smiled at the black haired man and nodded. She felt Sirius hug her and leaned against him as she kept eating.

"You know James is a smart man. He knows what's good for him so don't worry your pretty little head over him." Sirius bumped her shoulder gently.

Remus sighed. Sometimes his black haired friend acted wiser than he looked. He was glad Sirius was the one comforting Hermione. Strangely, he always seemed to know what to say in such situations.

"So, Remus right? Tell me a little about yourself. We didn't get much opportunity to talk, what with this one hogging my attention before." Hermione smiled looking at Remus.

Remus laughed as Sirius protested loudly and sulked at being ignored. The tension in the group dissipated as they continued talking.

* * *

The man fidgeted with his wand as he waited. After giving away the bundle in his arms, he was now waiting in the hallway of the Manor. It was quite ostentatious, decorated with precious and semi precious stones. There were onyx flower vases filled with freshly charmed flowers and Turkish ceramic plates lined on the wall. They were rippling with magic. The Thunka painting seemed almost alive as the dusky colours swirled and the cloth gleamed. It was such a queer mix of muggle art and magic but it all escaped the trembling man.

A woman suddenly appeared and bowed to the man before directing him to a large sitting room. If the man noticed the absence of house-elves, he didn't comment.

"Welcome Wormtail." A voice filled with power slithered across his spine.

Wormtail looked towards the gliding staircase to see a tall slender man dresses in the darkest of the robes slowly making his way towards him.

"Master ... I'm ..." Wormtail gulped. He was too awestruck at the sight of the robed figure.

"I see I did not chose the most verbose of my servant to do this task." The man sneered.

"No! My Lord, I assure you, you chose the right man. I swear-" Wormtail stopped as the man raised his hand.

He no longer had webbed fingers, nor the skeletal facial features that scared many of his followers. Now there were just smooth lines and dark gleaming eyes filled with sadistic pleasure and power. Wormtail swallowed. For some reason, he was almost more scared of _this_ man than his Lord Voldemort.

"Where is it?" The man whispered yet the voice seemed to reach the furtherest corners of the room.

Another dark robed man stepped forward and placed a squirming bundle in his arms.

The Dark Lord, known to many as Lord Voldemort smiled as he looked at the bundle in his arms. To say The Dark Lord was satisfied didn't even cover the extent of his happiness. Right at this moment, Voldemort knew that he was invincible. No one would come even close to his power. Yes, Tom Riddle had finally accomplished his goal of reaching the highest pinnacle of his power and true immortality.

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A/N **:** Thank for reading, following and reviewing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note -** Sorry for the lack of James and Hermione interaction in this chapter but this is an important bridging chapter. More of them in the next chapter though. Promise :p

 **Disclaimer -** I don't own Harry Potter and the characters mentioned in the series, nor am I making any money from writing fan fiction.

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"What did you want to talk about?"

James looked at the girl he fell in love with as a child. As a first year, she had fascinated him with her bright red hair and muggle background. He had never met someone like her before and maybe that's how his obsession with Lily started. He had believed that one day they might even get married. James knew a lot of marriages were based on much less. He and Lily had formed a tentative friendship in their sixth year and sex with her was good, not great but then again, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Everything had changed the moment he met Hermione. He didn't know what was so special about the witch but whenever he was with her, his entire focus zeroed down on her. He forgot everything else and that had never happened with Lily and so James knew in his heart what he wanted.

"I know you wanted to ask me something." James began but was interrupted by Lily.

"You know what I want to talk about James."

"Hermione."

"Yes, her. What is she to you?"

James frowned. He didn't know if he could put it in words what he felt for Hermione or what she was to him. All he knew was that he felt alive when he was with her. She gave him the same feeling of exhilaration as when he was flying or running with Moony and Padfoot on a full moon night. Nothing could describe it.

"I don't know."

"Well that's not good enough!"Lily snapped.

"Don't you think I know that!" James snapped back.

"Then what is there to talk about James?"

"Lily ... I was glad when you finally said yes to me and what we had was good but ..." James sighed, gathering his thoughts.

"I know you've also noticed it. Recently we've only been fighting and fucking." He continued.

"I know. Something changed and I want to say it was _her_ but I'm not that petty." Lily sighed.

"What we had was not love and every crush has an expiry date I guess." James smiled at Lily.

She nodded. After what happened during the feast last week, she had had time to think about a lot of things. While she was not happy that James was breaking things off, Lily knew she couldn't put the _entire_ blame on Hermione Granger. She had a feeling they were spiralling in that direction long before Hermione entered their lives Their fights had grown increasingly more violent and the make up sex didn't seem enough.

Maybe somewhere inside her, she blamed him and his friends for what had happened with Severus. She had chosen them no doubt but it had hurt to part from her best friend. Maybe she was channelling all that blame on James and that was why their fights often took a vicious turn.

She had genuinely liked James. He was a nice guy and once he had taken his pranks and proclamations of his deep, abiding love towards her down a notch, she had found him more than tolerable. There was also the fact that it was easy to be with James. He did not ask her intimate questions and she didn't pry about his monthly disappearance along with Sirius and Remus. Lily realised now that they'd never really tried to build a deeper relationship. Both were at fault but it also meant that it was time to end it.

"You're right. We didn't love each other. I think we never really gave ourselves the opportunity to fall in love. It was the idea of us." Lily finally admitted.

James kept silent. He knew Lily wanted to say more and so he waited.

"We had some good time James but I think somewhere in my head I still blame you for what happened with Severus." Lily swallowed as she remembered those painful memories.

James winced. Severus Snape was a sore spot for him. Even if he justified it as house rivalry, James knew what he had participated in - humiliating a boy about things he couldn't help out of petty jealousy, was unforgivable. No humiliation was worth the paltry sense of superiority and satisfaction they had felt for that short period of time when Snape had been hanging upside down. Just remembering that incident filled him with shame. Things had gone too far that day. James was not proud of the sort of man he saw himself becoming and so he had made a decision. James along with Sirius and Remus had decided to leave the sour Slytherin alone after that. Even Sirius had seemed to lose his fun in pranking him.

"I think for a while, I was willing to put it all aside because I enjoyed being with you and it was just so _easy_ to surround myself with only you and the rest of Gryffindors. No more having to face wary glances or snide comments from my own housemates because of interacting with Slytherins. It was such a relief not having to talk to Sev's friends and to see the approving looks." Lily confessed rawly.

She didn't want to admit all this to James. Hell, she didn't even want to admit it to herself but it was high time she grew up and showed some of the Gryffindor bravery. Lily Evans was not a coward and she refused to hide from her feelings and take the easy way out.

James didn't say anything for a while. He wondered how much courage it took for Lily to say all these things aloud. He had never respected her more. He didn't know she had been going through all this by herself. Merlin, they really were a mismatched pair if they couldn't even share things like this with each other. He was glad they were finally revealing everything.

James wanted to say that it's okay to be human. They all felt ashamed sometimes, wanting to take the easy way out and hide from the pain. Sometimes it was okay to do that. But the words wouldn't weren't Gryffindor's words. James didn't know how to comfort her.

"Lily ..."

"It's okay James. I'm glad I told you this. Now I can move on." Lily muttered wiping her teary eyes.

"You know I'll never judge you for any of it. Part of it is my fault as well. If I hadn't been so mean to Snape, then this probably wouldn't have happened." James said seriously while transfiguring a leaf into a handkerchief and offering it to Lily.

"I know. Don't think I've completely forgiven you for that either." Lily mock glared while accepting the handkerchief. Lily realised that she wasn't angry at James anymore.

"I promise to never do it again Lils." James swore,

Lily nodded in acknowledgement. She looked up at the sky. It was a clear day for a change and the brisk wind felt nice against her face. They were outside as most of the students were, taking the opportunity to get some fresh air. She could hear the others in a distance, laughing with their friends and it calmed her.

"It feels good to let it all out." Lily said softly and smiled.

"Yeah, it does." James' chin dipped in agreement.

"So where do we go from here ?" Lily asked.

"How about we start as friends?"

"Let's make a better effort this time." Lily teased.

James laughed. They were fine. Better in fact now that everything was out in the open. He remembered Hermione's parting advise from a few days back. It _was_ better to to explain things clearly. He missed her, James realised. James hadn't talked to Hermione after what happened in the great hall and he suddenly wanted to just talk to her. He wanted to see the impish look she got when she teased or flirted with him. The sexy smirk when she taunted him and the flush on her cheeks when he made her aroused. His gut clenched with the sudden need to see her and to hold her close.

"I'm glad we cleared things up." Lily finally said.

"Yes, I'm glad we did." They both looked ahead where laughter could be heard. It was a good day to end and begin things, James thought.

"So are you going to forgive Snape?" James asked curiously as they made their way back to the castle.

Lily's shoulders slumped. She didn't know if she had it in her to forgive Severus but it was true that she missed him. He was the only one who she didn't have to hide, who she could tell anything and the only link between her muggle and magical self.

"I don't know." Lily said softly.

James nodded in acceptance. This time he would not meddle.

It was quiet as they finally reached the castle. Both were busy with their thoughts. It would be full moon soon. James wondered what would Hermione think about his and his friends' little secret. He was a little surprised that he was actually considering telling her. Of course he would talk to the others before.

He reached the common room. He and Lily had parted near the library because she had some work there. He found Sirius gazing at the fire and Remus flipping through Potions Weekly. He smirked. It was clear they had been waiting for him. The forced idleness didn't suit them at all.

Sirius looked up as he heard James coming closer.

"Took you long enough mate." He grumbled.

"Padfoot." Remus said reproachingly.

Sirius heaved a long sigh and straightened from his slouched position.

"It's fine Moony." James laughed.

"So how was it?" Remus asked seriously.

"It went better and worse than I expected to be honest." James shook his head and smiled wryly.

He told them about what he and Lily talked. Even Sirius looked subdued at the mention of Snape. In the end, all three were glad that things were resolved.

"Well done mate. Both you and Evans deserve better. Not to mention, I would literally kill you if you give up snogging with Hermione." Sirius waggled his eyebrows.

James growled and shifted a little. Any mention of that was enough to make him hard. The witch was seriously messing with his libido.

It would be the weekend after. James had full intentions to seek and talk to Hermione. Enough avoiding.

* * *

 _The Slytherin Common Room_

A fourth year Slytherin was quietly doing his Transfiguration assignment when the door to the common room burst open. He saw as the two older boys made their way to the seventh year boys dormitory. He recognised them both and knew better to open his mouth. It was better to keep his head down in front of the two.

"Why haven't you been able to get me more information?" A voice asked angrily.

"You know I've been trying my best to! She doesn't give me any openings. I don't know where she came from or what is she here for but the witch has some crazy senses. She's always on her guard." A voiced snapped back.

"Well you better come up with something fast. You know he doesn't like waiting. I'm surprised he's not called you yet."

The younger man grimaced. He hated those blasted meetings. Recently they were just getting worse.

"I did hear that he has been absent in the last two meetings. Any idea what's going on?" The younger man asked.

The older man shook his head and frowned. There were a lot of suspicious things happening in the manor recently. The inner circle refused to tell him anything. Whenever he tried subtly asking around, he got rebuffed. It was all extremely hush hush.

"It is quite curious how our ... lord has been behaving but you know that one must never question his motives." The older man drawled softly.

The younger man frowned slightly before nodding in understanding. Working with the man they called their lord was not exactly how he pictured it. At first, it was everything he had imagined. He got recognition for his excellent potion making skills and for his quick and ruthless wand work. He was treated with respect and awe but slowly that had changed. Now instead of working _with_ their lord, it felt like he was working _for_ him. He was not sure he wanted to continue. While he still believed in their cause, he was smart enough to realise that the future was not as secure for him as he had thought.

Their lord was a capricious being, quick to anger. He had already faced his wrath a few times and each time had been worse than the previous. This did not bode well for the future.

He knew another one of their ... friends had started feeling the same way. Maybe he could start making some enquiries discretely.

"I shall take my leave then. You know what you have to do. Do not fail him Severus." Warned the elder man.

Severus Snape looked at the blond haired man in front of him. He wasn't sure but he caught a flash of worry on his face. It made Severus think that maybe the situation was more serious than they thought.

"I know Lucius."

Severus watched as the blonde man turned and left his room. Lucius Malfoy was an extremely enigmatic man. He was the one who had convinced Severus to their cause. It sometimes surprised him to know that Lucius was just one year older than him. He almost coveted his poise and grace and of course he was the definition of a well groomed and aristocratic pure blood. Something that Severus could never be.

Severus sighed, making sure his room was warded against any intruders or objects displaying malicious intent. He had learnt early that if he wanted his belongings safe then he better ward them. You could never really trust anyone in Slytherin.

Severus headed towards the great hall. As usual, he kept his eyes away from the red and gold table. He had tried in the beginning but constantly getting rejected took a toll on a person after a while. So now he ignored everything Gryffindor and went straight towards where he always sat.

Severus was pushing around the food in his plate when he felt someone staring at his back. He had developed the habit of constantly being on alert even when he was mentally preoccupied. It had saved him from a number of nasty surprises. He paused and moved his neck a little to throw a glance towards the Gryffindor table. That was the only one he had his back towards. To his surprise, the person staring at him was none other than Lily Evans, his former best friend.

He straightened and turned back to his food. He had no interest in Lil- _Evans_ now. She could go and marry Potter and raise his kids and die for all he cared! Severus Snape was not a man who begged easily, or ever in fact. And he had grovelled on his knees in front of her for days. She had not forgiven him. He had tried endlessly to seek her forgiveness but he was completely ignored, not even a glance and now she was staring at him! Well let her look all she wanted. He didn't care.

Lily sighed despondently. What had she expected. She knew it wouldn't be so easy but she had still hoped that Severus would at least acknowledge her a little. Lily knew she had an arduous journey ahead of her if she wanted to be friends with Severus again but she was determined. Talking to James had made her realise how much she missed her best friend and this time _she_ would be the one to beg for forgiveness.

* * *

 _Lord Voldemort's Manor._

The entire inner circle of the death eaters were in a confused disarray. Their lord had just told them to locate and secure a habitable place for one child and an adult. The matter was given the utmost priority and the place was to be secured with the strongest of wards and the fidelius charm. There were additional orders their lord had given but all related to making the place unplottable and as impenetrable as possible. The death eaters were never given a task like this and everyone was surprised but they dared not question the dark lord. One unfortunate soul did and he was currently ... indisposed due to severe exposure from the cruciatus for a total of twenty-four hours. Another first for any of the death eaters.

They all felt a change approaching and wondered what it might mean for all of them.

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 **A/N:** Thank you for reading, reviewing and following this story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** All the recognisable characters are owned by J.K.R. No money is being from this story. I only own the Plot.

Please Review and Enjoy.

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Hermione was spending the day in the Library. She had decided that she needed some alone time. Too much time spent with Marauders and the rest of the Gryffindors couldn't possibly be good for her psyche. So, she was happy to lose herself in the world of ancient runes for the some time.

She had found her own corner hidden from the prying eyes. Everyone, even the Slytherins had been curious about the new seventh year Gryffindor. She supposed it made sense considering Hogwarts didn't really believe in exchange programs and new students in the middle of the session - particularly in seventh year, had come as a shock to everyone. She had caught so many people throwing her curious glances. Some of the younger years had even approached her. They had all sorts of questions - some Hermione was happy to answer while some, she avoided like Ron avoided studying.

So, she was hiding. She really wanted some peace and quiet to think about everything. One thing she had noticed was the rivalry between the houses. While she knew about the Gryffins and Slytherins. Hermione was quite surprised to see Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws fighting it out. It was nowhere near the extent of the Gryffindors and Slytherins but it was something that wasn't there in her time or in any of the time periods she had previously visited.

After observing for a while, Hermione had come to a conclusion that the small oddities just kept on adding up and she had a theory but it was so absurd that Hermione didn't want to admit it even to herself. If her theory was true, then it could potentially destroy her mission.

"... not true!" A voice whispered furiously.

"Then you ask her!" Another argued.

Hermione turned to look at two Gryffindors shuffling their way to her. From the looks of it, they couldn't have been older than thirteen. She raised an eyebrow as they blushed and averted their eyes. After a moment they looked up with a determined expression and stepped forward. Hermione snorted softly. Yes, they were definitely in the right house.

"Umm, we wanted to ask you a few questions if you don't mind." The girl asked shyly.

"Shouldn't I at least know your names before answering your questions?" Hermione teased.

"I'm Ellie and he's Sebastian. We're both third years." Ellie offered excitedly.

"Hi Ellie and Sebastian. What can I help you with?" Hermione asked snapping her book close and gesturing for the pair to sit next to her.

Ellie sat down immediately and after a second, so did Sebastian. Hermione could immediately tell Sebastian was a little uncomfortable and was mostly there to give his friend some company.

"You're Hermione Granger right? Professor Dumbledore had announced it during the morning assembly but he didn't tell us why you suddenly transferred to Hogwarts so we were just wondering ..." Ellie trailed off hesitatingly, not wanting her question to be intrusive.

"We want to know why you're here." Sebastian finished rudely.

Hermione cocked an eyebrow and stared at Sebastian. He met her stare for a few minuted before muttering and looking aside. Hermione smirked. It was fun to rattle kids occasionally. Good stress buster.

"And why are you so curious about me?"

"Because!" Ellie started, paused then seemed to gather herself and continued, "Everyone is curious! There has never been a new student in the middle of the student year." Ellie finished breathlessly.

Sebastian just looked bored but she could tell he was paying attention to their conversation.

"Is it really that strange to see me here?"

"No! It's just ..." Ellie trailed off, trying to explain why she was so curious about her.

"Did you go to some other magical school before choosing Hogwarts? Is that why you transferred here so late?" Ellie asked.

"You could say that. I always wanted to go to Hogwarts and so I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to do so."

Hermione stared at the two faces blinking back at her. She sighed. They were expecting more than her ambiguous explanation but that was all she could give them.

"Anyway, tell me a little about yourself."

"Well, I'm a muggle born and Sebastian here is a pureblood. We both met during our first year have been friends since." Ellie finished with an expectant look.

Hermione smiled. Ellie reminded her of when she was that young. Always so curious and inquisitive about everything.

"What about you Sebastian? Not going to say anything?' Hermione asked the boy who was wearing a slightly mutinous expression.

"Not really. I'm only here because Ellie wanted to know if you're also a muggle born like her. She saw you using a -"

"Sebastian!" Ellie shushed her friend with a horrified expression.

"It's okay. No need to be embarrassed." Hermione laughed.

"So, are you?" Sebastian grunted and folded his arms.

"You young man, need to be taught some manners. Did no one teach you how to be respectful towards your elders?" Hermione scowled while trying to fight off a smile.

Ellie was covering her face with her hands and she could swear Sebastian's cheeks grew a little red at her remark. Hermione wondered whether announcing her blood status would do her more good or harm. Then, she thought, _to hell with it._ She had never hidden her blood status and had always been proud of it.

"To answer your question, Yes, I'm a muggle born."

Ellie looked surprised. She had expected it after seeing Hermione use a ball pen instead of a quill once in the library but somehow it still came as a shock to her. Ever since then she had been curious about the older witch. She always looked so sure and unafraid - even when some of the older Slytherins had teased her mercilessly and tried cursing her. Hermione had handled them without batting an eyelash. Ellie had grown to admire the quiet and confident witch after secretly stalking her for a few days. Sebastian had finally caught on and together they finally decided to approach her. She broke out of her musings realising Hermione was still talking.

"So now that I've answered your question, mind telling me what's the big deal in being a muggle born?" Hermione asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to see what her two new friends thought about it.

Ellie and even Sebastian looked confused about the question. The answer to them was quite obvious and if Hermione was a muggle born then she should have known it already.

"How can you say that? You know how muggle-borns are treated here, specially because of the You-Know-Who's supporters. Some muggle borns are even considering going back to the muggle world just to escape You-Know-Who. So of course it's a big deal if you're a muggle born!" Ellie finished heatedly.

Sebastian remained quiet but his expression spoke volumes. Hermione was starting to figure out what the real problem was.

"Ellie ..." Hermione began softly, "You know you don't have to be scared of using magic. You have as much right as anyone else to practice magic and to live here. _No one_ can take it away from you. But it's your choice if you want to stay here and fight - for your right to stay here, or go back. No one will judge you if you decide to go back but think about it carefully."

Hermione knew it was a precarious line between wanting to stay here but knowing what the cost will be and tempted to go back and take the easier option. This world was as dangerous as it was wonderful. She thought that if she hadn't met Harry and became friends with him, then she might have thought about the same. After all, it wasn't as if she couldn't live without magic. It would have been hard but she would have been safe. So, Hermione knew what was going through Ellie's mind and why she was hesitant to talk about it. No body wanted to admit to such weakness.

Ellie looked ready to cry as Sebastian gently put his arm around her. He looked at Hermione with a determined expression.

"And what if we want to fight?"

Ah, so that's what they had come for, Hermione realised. They wanted to fight but didn't know how to start and where to go. Hermione thought about the Order for a second before discarding the idea. First, they were too young for the order and no one would take them seriously for a few more years. By then, it might be too late. Second, Dumbledore. She did not want them to be exposed to the head master's manipulations. He might go soft on Ellie but Sebastian was another case.

Hermione in the short time she had spent with the two, had come to realise a few things. There was a fidgetiness about them. They wanted to do something tangible. The desire to fight, to be pro active was very evident on their faces. It would do no good to either if they continued along the same direction. She had to do something.

"Frankly, you can't really do much now. You're only in your third year." Hermione ignored the insulted expression thrown her way and continued seriously, "Right now, you should just focus on learning as much as possible. Practice your spells, curses and charms till you drop. Improve your wand-work. Try duelling each other. It's never too early to begin duelling and it will definitely help you later. Also, learn as many healing spells as possible ..."

Hermione listed a few more things as she noticed the growing look of focus and determination on Ellie and Sebastian. Good, they were listening. If they followed even half of what she said, it might save them in future.

By the end of her impromptu lecture, both the children's expression were bleak yet hopeful. It was as if the gravity of their situation suddenly dawned on them.

"You might never need these but it's better to be safe than sorry." Hermione softly explained.

Sebastian nodded slowly and Ellie shook her head furiously. They looked at Hermione admiringly and she had a sneaking suspicious that she might just have acquired two wards.

They talked about a few more things before Hermione noticed them fidgeting.

"Now what?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Err ... do you think we can come to you if we have any problems?" Ellie asked shyly.

Hermione sighed. This is what she was afraid of. Then again, they were her responsibility now.

"Yes, come whenever you have any questions."

Ellie smiled thankfully and Sebastian nodded.

"So why are you here alone? Don't you have any friends in your year?" Ellie asked curiously.

Hermione cocked an eyebrow. They sure were lacking in the tact department.

"I just like my own space sometimes."

Ellie bit her lip wanting to ask another question, when she was interrupted by a deep amused voice.

"What is this? Holding your own class now, Professor Granger?"

Hermione's heart gave a sudden lurch at the husky voice she hadn't heard in a week. She looked up to see the man she had spent way more time thinking about than she wanted to. His full sensuous lips were curled up in amusement but his eyes stared at her intensely. As had become the norm, their surroundings slowly faded until it was just the two of them. She was suddenly aware of how much her skirt had ridden up, how the first two buttons of her shirt were open and how mused up her hair was. She wondered if James noticed any of it.

"Hermione." His deep voice rumbled.

The two younger Gryffindors din't know which way to look. They were all sitting in the library - a public place but suddenly it felt private - just for the two people who didn't realise there were others besides them. They gulped as the tension between Hermione and James escalated. Sebastian nudged Ellie subtly to tell her to leave. She nodded, still looking at her new mentor and James Potter - one of the most famous senior of their house ever!

"So, umm ... guess, we should head back." Ellie stuttered softly.

Hermione took a breath. She had to wrench her eyes away from James'.

"Yes, I will see you two later than." She whispered, shook by how much James affected her with just a glance.

James didn't even spare the departing pair a glance. His eyes seemed to devour the witch sitting in front of him. The flush on her cheeks, the way her chest moved as she breathed, everything. He hadn't been this close to her in a week. It was only a week but it seemed longer.

"How are you?"

James had to blink to focus on the words rather than Hermione's mouth as she started to speak.

"How do you think I am?" He growled, suddenly hating that they had to talk. He wanted to grab her and kiss her and do so much more.

Hermione stood up, not liking the advantage James had by towering over her. There was a slight edginess to him that almost made her tremble.

James closed the gap between them and pulled her flush against his chest. He inhaled, taking in the scent of ink and parchment that surrounded her own enticing scent. It calmed him. He slowly relaxed and hugged her. Damn, he had missed the feeling of having her in his arms.

Hermione closed her eyes as she felt James relax around her. It felt good to hug him. A small part of her, which she hadn't been aware of, sighed in relief. After a few minutes of simply luxuriating in the closeness, they parted.

"Missed me?" James grinned.

"You wish." Hermione rolled her eyes.

James laughed delightedly.

"Mind if I steal you away from your precious library?"

"How do you know it's my precious place?" Hermione rained an eyebrow.

"I have my ways to find out, love." James winked.

Hermione swatted his arm lightly, shaking her head. Something was bubbling up inside of her. She felt happy and carefree. It felt nice to be young again, Hermione thought fondly, looking at James.

"So where are you taking me?"

"It's a secret. Now c'mon, we don't have much time."

"What do you mean - not much time?" Hermione brows furrowed in question.

"If we don't leave right now, I'm afraid we might sully this sacred place of learning by our debauchery." James said solemnly.

It took Hermione a second to realise what he meant. Then, "James!" Hermione whispered furiously, trying to keep her voice down.

"Trust me, love. I'm not kidding." James put a finger over her lips.

Hermione gasped softly as she saw the intensity of his gaze. James slowly, as if in a trance, traced his finger over her slightly parted mouth. Her lips tingled wherever he touched. Her senses came alive. James finally brought his whole hand to gently cup her face, his thumb stroking the soft flesh of her bottom lip. He tugged it gently as he brought his another hand around her neck. He brought her face closer, their lips were barely a few centimetre apart.

Hermione waited but James wasn't moving. She could see his hazel eyes darken as he kept his gaze fixed at her mouth. She slowly licked his thumb resting there. His eyes snapped back to hers and he growled softly.

"Be careful, love. you don't wanna push me too far."

Hermione cocked an eyebrow, feigning nonchalance, despite wanting nothing more but to sink into his arms.

They remained close as James suddenly fisted her hair and pulled her hair back, in a deliberately controlled manner. He didn't use any force but still Hermione felt helpless for a second. He nuzzled her throat and groaned.

"We need to get out of here sweetheart." James husked.

Hermione nodded, too aroused to say anything. Thankfully they weren't caught. She barely had enough time to wave her wand over her books to pack them before James grabbed her hand and lead her out of the library. Thankfully the walk helped calming them both. The passion between them, Hermione observed with wonder burned too strong to see any reason. She didn't know what it might mean for them in future but for now, she would definitely enjoy it to the fullest.

James brought her to the rooms of requirement corridor, but she of course had to feign surprise.

"Where are we?"

"We are at the best place in Hogwarts."

Hermione smiled at James' excited expression.

"Wait till you see it. You will be amazed." James stated.

He opened the door that appeared, with a flourish.

"Ladies first."

James bowed and waved his hand, telling her to enter first. His expression clearly said he was just waiting for her to be awestruck.

Hermione gasped with as much fake surprise as she was capable of, upon entering the room. Wouldn't want to disappoint James now.

James glared at her in suspicion. Her expression almost seemed too shocked. He shrugged it off as a mystery to be solved later. They had better things to do.

The room looked like the Gryffindor common room, but with slight changes to make it cosier for the pair. There were soft burgundy couches and a soft rug in muted colour. There was a large fireplace along with a few more additions. The place was perfect for a more intimate setting.

James gently steered Hermione towards the large couch and settled them both after taking their cloaks off. The room was pleasantly warm so there was no need of their outer robes.

Hermione made herself comfortable as a glass of hot chocolate appeared next to her. She looked at James questioningly.

James smiled sheepishly. He had noticed that she always took her hot chocolate in the evenings instead of tea as a snack.

Hermione smiled and took the offered drink. She softly blew over the rim before taking a small sip. She moaned in delight. Hot chocolate was god's gift to humans. It was utterly delicious and so creamy and sweet. She licked her lips, enjoying her drink when she heard a sound.

"You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you right now." James was looking at her, cheeks flushed.

"I think I might have _some_ idea." Hermione coyly averted her eyes as she traced the rim of her cup to lick the cream on top of it.

"Cheeky witch!" James groaned.

Hermione laughed huskily, enjoying seeing James squirm a little.

They were mostly silent as she finished her hot drink. Hermione wondered what James wanted to talk to her about. He was being very patient so she knew it must be something important.

"I was dating Lily Evans." James began.

Hermione straightened. Yes, there it was. The conversation she was both dreading and anticipating.

* * *

 **A/N** \- Thank you for reading, following and reviewing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** All the recognisable characters are owned by J.K.R. No money is being from this story. I only own the Plot.

Please Review and Enjoy.

* * *

The crackling of the fire seemed very loud in the ensuing silence. James looked at Hermione to gauge her reaction to his earlier statement but her face remained expressionless. He frowned. They had an exploding chemistry. That much, James knew. But besides that, he didn't really know much about Hermione Granger.

"I knew."

James looked at Hermione, at the softly spoken words.

"In case you forgot, I saw you and Lily right when I ... came here. Of course you could have been involved in a more casual relationship but my first assumption was that you were dating."

"They why did you ..." James gritted his teeth as he bit back the question he wanted to ask. Why did she respond to him at the shop and why did she flirt with him.

"James ... I knew you were with Lily and I tried to control myself but for some reason whenever I'm with you, all my common sense takes a hike. Logic deserts me and all I want to do is fu-" Hermione paused, aware that the tension in the room just went up a notch.

She looked at James, who was giving her a smouldering look from across the couch. Hermione swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. It was happening again. She knew they needed to talk but all she could think about James' warm, hard body in front of her and how his hands felt on her heated skin.

"What is it you want to do Hermione?"

Hermione's breathing sped as she heard James growl out the question. She loved his voice. The deep baritone and how it became an octave lower whenever he was aroused.

"Answer me witch."

She shuddered. Yes, she definitely liked James' voice. It did some amazing things to her nether regions.

"Why should I?" Hermione smiled.

"Don't tease me. Not right now. You don't know how close I am to throwing you across the couch and having my way with you."

Hermione licked her lips. This was getting them nowhere. If things continued, they would end up fucking before resolving some very important things. She needed to focus.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Teasing you is more fun that I thought but now is not the time."

James looked almost disappointed at her sudden change but nodded. He wanted to tell her about Lily so there would be no misunderstanding in future but still ...

"Why is it so hard to have a conversation with you?" James grouched.

Hermione laughed, dissipating the remaining sexual tension in the air.

"Maybe you're not trying hard enough."

"Oh trust me, If I try any harder, I'm afraid what it might do to my ... dragon."

Hermione blinked.

"Did you just call your dick a _dragon_?"

"What's wrong with that?" James huffed. "It's a fitting name for it." He continued proudly.

Hermione shook her head, trying hard not to laugh. _Men._ How could he even say it with a straight face was beyond her.

"Whatever you say. Let's give your ... umm ... dragon a little break and -" Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She burst out laughing. Fucking Dragon. _Oh Merlin,_ tears were seeping from her eyes as she continued to laugh. She looked at James. His affronted expression didn't help the matter. She clutched her stomach as another bout of laughter ensued.

"Alright! I get it. You can stop now." A very pissed off James grumbled.

Hermione wiped her eyes and sat up, looking at the sulking man. Oh he was adorable.

"Let's get this back on track, shall we?" Hermione suggested, wiping the stray tears.

Hermione smiled at James who was still frowning at her.

"Are you always this ... casual with men?" James asked.

"Not usually. It depends on how comfortable I feel around them, I guess." Hermione shook her head.

"So you feel comfortable around me?" James cocked an eyebrow.

"Not comfortable in the platonic sense, but I know you won't harm me if I let my guard down."

"We haven't even spent much time together. How can you know that?"

Hermione tilted her head sideways and looked at James. He looked slightly troubled and it didn't seem like she was the root cause of it.

"What's wrong James?"

James sighed.

"I broke up with her."

"Is it because of ..."

Hermione paused, not sure how to convey her feelings.

James shook his head, dispelling her worries.

"It's not _fully_ because of what happened between us. I don't think Lily and I were meant to last."

Hermione snorted before she could control herself. James looked at her.

"Really? Here I'm telling you something serious and you think it's a joke." James frowned.

"No ... No, it's just ..." Hermione ended, splaying her hands in an apology. Now how did one explain the concept of togetherness that James and Lily practically personified without sounding like a raving lunatic ... or a seer.

"You really are a strange witch, Granger." James said.

"Trust me, I know." Hermione shrugged.

"And you know what the funny thing is, I can't stay mad at you. And I have tried, because you are also an annoying witch at times." James smiled, showing that no offence was meant.

"I personally don't find anything wrong with that." Hermione winked.

James laughed. This conversation was so not going like how he'd planned.

Hermione observed James as they both quieted down. He didn't look troubled anymore. She looked around trying to figure out how much time had passed. The room didn't have a clock but she could always ask the room. Then she remembered - James.

"So James, how did you find such a nice room? It reminds me of our common room a little. It's so weird that a room like this is so randomly placed in this corridor."

She was hedging but sue it. She never was good at acting.

"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you about the amazing features of this room." James grinned.

"It's called The Room of Requirements. Basically, it will transform into whatever you want. Pretty neat huh?"

Hermione laughed as James waggled his eyebrows.

"So if I want to know the time, I can simple wish for a clock?" Hermione asked innocently.

"Yep."

Hermione sighed. Gryffindors, in any timeline, were really gullible. Oh well. She mentally asked the room for a clock. A huge antique grandfather clock appeared. It was tall, almost twelve feet tall. The pendulum held inside the tower was made from pure gold with runic carvings. The case was elaborately carved with a language long forgotten. The structure looked wooden but it was not. It was beautiful and ancient. Hermione silently thanked the room for its' generous welcome. She recognised the clock. It was one of a kind and a Hogwarts treasure not many knew. She knew with this, the castle had officially welcomed her back.

Hermione came back to the present as she caught James giving her a look. She supposed she must have looked foolish, smiling dopily by herself.

"That's on impressive clock. You must have some great imagination." James said admiringly.

Hermione smiled.

"So James, now that we have some time to ourselves, tell me a little about you."

Hermione admitted, she partly said it to divert James' attention from the clock but mostly it was because she wanted to know more about him.

"Where to begin. I'm in my seventh year and I like this girl who's slightly crazy but her kisses are bloody amazing!" James said teasingly.

Hermione threw her head back and laughed.

"I like how she laughs and doesn't try to hide behind facades. I like how she was patient with me and gave me time to sort things out with Lily. I like how she gets along so well with the most precious people in my life. I like how I can't stop thinking about her."

Hermione stared at James. His intense expression, his words. He was serious and she didn't know when she would start breathing again. James Potter like her. Genuinely, seriously liked her and Hermione Granger was three parts ecstatic and one part hyperventilating. She wanted to kiss him. Now.

"James ..." Hermione whispered as she moved.

James stretched his legs on the couch they were sharing and looked at her. He didn't say anything as she crawled towards him. His mouth was unsmiling and his eyes narrowed. He waited until she reached his knees and then grabbed her and hauled her in his arms. He groaned in pleasure at how seamlessly she fit into his arms. He gripped her hair and tilted her head back and slanted his lips across hers.

Finally! James had missed kissing her. and fuck it felt amazing. He felt her twine her tongue with his as she languidly tasted him. James opened his mouth further and sucked her bottom lip. She gasped as he bit it and soothed with his tongue.

"You taste amazing Hermione." James whispered against her cheek as he pepped her face with small, moist kisses. He wanted to taste all of her. She giggled when he licked the shell of her ear and moaned when he sucked her earlobe. Hermione's hands were doing their own exploring of his chest and back.

James' hands went down her sides, fleetingly touching her breasts causing her to arch. Her nipples tightened and James couldn't take it anymore. He had to taste them. He looked at her as he slowly removed her shirt. His eyes didn't move as the shirt came off and her bra-clad breast were bared. He smiled and boldly dragged his eyes down, taking in the marks on her neck he'd made earlier. Her chest moved with each breath she took. She was panting a little. Her nipples peaked through the delicate lacy bra she was wearing. His hands moved as if they had a mind of their own. He cupped them and squeezed the soft globes. Their weight felt divine in his hands. He ran his thumb across a nipple lightly, watching it harden even further.

"James ..." Hermione gasped as she gripped his head.

He pinched a nipple between his thumb and his forefinger and watched as Hermione unravelled. He swallowed. The sight was beautiful. She had thrown her head back. Her cheeks and neck were flushed pink. Her lips red from biting on them so much.

"You're beautiful Hermione." James whispered as he bent his head and took a breast in his mouth. He sucked softly as he felt Hermione shiver in his arms. His hand went to the other unattended breast and played with it. He bit the nipple in his mouth gently as he tickled the other. The combined sensation made Hermione shriek.

She pulled his head back roughly and kissed him. He gladly returned it with increasing passion. Her hands reached down to remove his shirt. Neither broke the kiss until she pulled off his shirt fully. They panted as they gazed at each other. Hermione finally looked down to the muscular chest she had revealed. Her frank and admiring gaze drew a husky laugh from him.

"Come here."

James pulled her in his arms. He took off her bra and looked at her breasts. They fit perfectly in his hands. His hands caressed her sides and stomach, feeling the soft skin. Hermione had her eyes closed. Her mouth was parted as she expressed her pleasure. She opened her eyes as his hands played with the zipper of her skirt. She splayed them across his chest as she adjusted her position. Now they were even closer. She could feel how hard James was. She ground against him as she explored his chest. She bent and licked a small trail from his chest to his navel, causing James to growl.

"No more teasing Hermione."

He gripped her thighs tightly and pulled her flush against him. His hands went under her skirt and pulled her panties down. James murmured his pleasure as he felt how wet she was. Hermione gasped as she felt James' fingers touch her folds. She looked at James. He was staring right back. They kept their gazes locked as James pushed a finger inside and touched her clit with his thumb. It added another level of intimacy to what they were doing. She fought not to close her eyes as he twisted his finger inside and stroked her clit harder. She was so close. Finally, she lost the battle and closed her eyes. She threw her head back as she felt her orgasm approach her. She could feel it building and just when she was at the edge, James pushed another finger inside her and pinched her clit softly. Hermione screamed as she came. Everything around her faded as she rode the high. She opened her eyes as her breathing slowed a little. James was looking at her with satisfaction. She could still feel his arousal but he didn't seem to be in a hurry to take care of it. Well, that would not do. After such a lovely orgasm, Hermione felt it would be her pleasure to return the gesture.

Hermione looked at James and smiled. Oh yes, it would be an absolute joy to watch James howl in pleasure. She slowly licked her lips, watching his eyes darken. He didn't seem to be all that patient now. She stroked his chest, running her hands through the trail of hair running down his pants. She heard him grunt as she opened his fly. He didn't do anything but watch her as she took her own sweet time opening and pushing down his pants. But she could feel what it was doing to him. He was so heard that it was a wonder she could even pull his pants off. She looked down to see the rigid flesh turning almost red in agonised pleasure. She licked her lips again and bent down to take him in her mouth.

James finally moved as he felt Hermione take his cock inside her mouth. It felt so damn good. He gripped her hair, taking care not to hurt her. He growled as he felt her swirl her tongue around the head and lick the beads of precum already formed. His grip tightened as she took him in further. He felt her relax her throat and suck on the head. James groaned and threw his head back. His neck corded as he tried not to come too soon. Her hands squeezed and rolled his balls as she kept sucking him. He could feel it approaching. He wouldn't be able to last any longer.

"I'm coming Hermione."

James warned her, in case she didn't want him to come inside. Hermione ignored his warning and continued licking and stroking his length. Just when he was about to come, she completely relaxed her throat to take him in as deep as possible and hummed softy. The vibrations were enough to make him howl as he came.

James panted as his heartbeat returned to normal. It was one of the best blow jobs he'd received in his life. He could die happy now.

They both cleaned up as their breathing got back to normal.

"That was ... fucking amazing."

Hermione giggled at James' admiring expression. But yes, it definitely was.

"Come to think of it, you didn't really answer my question." Hermione remarked as she buttoned up her shirt and straightened her skirt.

"What question?" James asked distractedly as he saw Hermione cover herself again.

"James!" Hermione laughed as she saw where he was looking.

James just shrugged and grinned roguishly at her. He finished buttoning up his shirt as he thought back to what had lead to this. Ah, now he remembered.

"There's nothing much to tell really. I am what you see me as." James winked as he spread his arms invitingly.

Hermione frowned and shook her head. He was impossible.

"No really, I would rather we discover more about each other after spending time together. I like you and I'm pretty sure you like me too." James said as he approached her.

He gently pulled her into his arms and rubbed the top of her head with his chin. Her hair felt softer than it looked, he mused. He felt Hermione relax and wrap her arms around him.

"Yes, I would rather that too." She whispered into his chest.

"So what say, we get out of this place to grab some food. It's dinner time and I'm sure Pads and Moony are wondering where we disappeared to. Or rather, where I hid you after I kidnapped you."

Hermione giggled. She would not be surprised if they actually did think that.

"Let's go to the Great Hall then ... before they come up even stranger reasons for our disappearance."

They headed off and James forgot all about the magnificent clock he'd seen earlier and the fact that he'd never told Hermione that Sirius and Remus were named Padfoot and Moony.

* * *

A/N - Thank you for reading, favouriting and reviewing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** All the recognisable characters are owned by J.K.R. No money is being from this story. I only own the Plot.

Please Review and Enjoy.

* * *

Hermione frowned. Something was troubling her but she couldn't put a name on it. It had been almost two weeks since James and her had officially started dating. Their entry to the great hall had created quite a stir, specially after the news of James and Lily breaking up had spread like wildfire. Remus and Sirius had congratulated them both with wide grins.

Things were good between her and James though they hardly got any time to spend together, what will all the Newt preparations, James' Quidditch captaincy and Hermione's sessions with Dumbledore.

Over the last few days, Hermione had also started spending more and more time with the younger students from Gryffindor. She suspected Ellie had a hand in it. She would randomly see them lurking in the shadows, coming to her with their grievances. It had started with one odd student here and there. Now she could be seen with a handful of them every day. Hermione didn't mind it honestly. She had never been popular with the students back in her time as she was always considered too involved with her books. This time, though, was different. Hermione had much more free time because she didn't feel the need to constantly hide behind her books or to prove herself in the magical world. Thus, the rest of the student body also treated her differently.

Currently, Hermione was sitting in her own library corner, frowning while looking at her assignment. She spent just enough time to get Outstanding in all, which wasn't that big of a deal for her. If she could get them during the first time, she sure as hell could get all Os the second time. Thus, it wasn't the assignment that was bothering her. It was the lack of one particular Gryffindor that was bothering her. She really had put it on hold for too long and now she was starting to feel uneasy. She had assumed he was absent because he had been 'looking after his sick mother' but no one had mentioned him even once during his lengthy absence, which was very strange. The boys had always been close so why were they ignoring their friend's absence. Things weren't adding up.

Hermione was brought out of her musings as she heard someone shuffling near her. She caught sight of red hair from her peripheral vision and sighed. She and Lily hadn't been alone since the whole James thing and she didn't know how the red - haired witch would treat her. Hermione admitted that she had been avoiding Lily but clearly it didn't work for long.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Hermione nodded and silently swept her books aside to create some space for her.

"Ah, even I had troubles with this week's transfiguration assignment. Don't know what Professor McGonagall was thinking giving us the dual-core transfiguration assignment along with the Newt practice assignments."

Lily's tone was causal, as if that was all she had to say. Hermione looked at her to see if she was really as okay as she sounded, but her eyes weren't casual at all. They were looking at her challengingly. Hermione knew that Lily suspected she had been avoiding her. Hermione almost smiled. She sometimes forgot that Harry didn't get his no-bullshit attitude from his father alone.

They stared at each other for a few minutes before Hermione smiled and nodded at Lily.

Lily narrowed her eyes and breathed through her nose.

"No more avoiding me now?"

Hermione winced and shook her head.

"I'm sorry Lily. And yes, no more avoiding."

"Good."

They both quieted after that and continued with their work. Now that Hermione wasn't distracted, she quickly finished her assignment and looked at Lily to see her struggling a little. Hermione offered no help. She knew the other witch was smart and would figure it out on her own. True enough, after half an hour, Lily sat back with a satisfied sigh looking at her completed assignment. She looked at Hermione in surprise as she heard a snort.

"You really are a bookworm, aren't you?" Hermione asked smilingly.

Lily shrugged and smiled back.

They both shut their textbooks and stared out the window. It had grown dark but Hermione could still make out the the forbidden forest.

"You know I thought I'd marry James someday."

Hermione looked at Lily. she was looking out the stained glass window. Hermione remained silent. She didn't really know what to say to that. She waited for Lily to say anything more but Lily didn't speak for several minutes.

Lily finally turned to look at her and smiled, "I'm glad we broke up."

Hermione's brows went up at that. She looked at Lily and her expression must have been ridiculous enough to make her giggle.

"Don't look so surprised. I'm honestly happy that James and I aren't together anymore. Now that I think about it, we probably wouldn't have worked. I mean marriage is something very long term and honestly, I just can't see myself with James in the log run. Maybe it took you coming her to make me realise that."

"But I thought you guys loved each other."

"Oh I'm sure we did, at some point. But it was a different type of love."

Lily's eyes clouded as she seemed lost in her thoughts. For some strange reason, Hermione had a hunch she wasn't thinking about James anymore.

"I was jealous of you in the beginning. You were this powerful, intelligent witch from somewhere else with a mysterious background. You were bold and didn't hesitate and everyone admired you." Lily began.

"You were this ... new fascination and I thought I had to compete with that." Lily confessed softly.

"I'm not a perfect girl everyone says that I am, you know. I have my own insecurities and I don't even know why I'm telling you all this but for some reason, I feel bizarrely connected to you, which is really strange." Lily admitted.

Hermione knew what Lily was feeling. She had discovered it by chance. Long - term time travel was very rare which is why no body really knew a lot about it but Hermione had spent decades trying to understand time itself and knew that time-travellers had this pull - an attraction, which made other gravitate towards them. They were transient beings and others couldn't help but be drawn towards them. It wasn't anything significant but it was still there.

Of course, Hermione wasn't going to share that tidbit of her knowledge with Lily but she could sympathise with what Lily was feeling.

"No one is perfect Lily. In fact, it is our flaws that make us who we are. Perfection is but an illusion we choose to surround ourself with, but no illusion is meant to last forever." Hermione said gently.

Lily nodded and looked down. She felt almost ashamed in admitting it but it was true. She was not the perfect Gryffindor Head Girl and everyone assumed that. Sometimes it was simply too much.

They talked for a several more minutes. Hermione found herself liking Lily Evans. For so long she had been Lily Potter to the world but this strong, fierce yet awkward teenager was a delight to get to know. Hermione told her a few things about her past, what little she could divulge without harm and they both discussed their love for books.

Lily admitted at being surprised to know that Hermione was also a muggle born.

"But you don't behave like one at all! You look like you've been around magic all your life. Sometimes I still get surprised by magic but you treat it as if it's always been a part of you." Lily argued, when Hermione confirmed that she was indeed from the muggle world.

Hermione laughed at this. Of course, she acted as if she'd been surrounded by magic all her life. After all, she had spent more years immersed in magic than without it. Magic had become something she couldn't live without. Magic was ... home.

"Trust me Lily, you will start feeling the same after you spend more time as a witch."

Lily gave her a quizzical look

"Sometime you speak as if you're much older than me, do you realise that?"

Hermione just winked at her. They moved to another topic before Hermione remembered what had been bothering her before.

"This reminds me Lily, I haven't seen Peter Pettigrew around. I heard from some of the younger students that he's been absent due to family problems. Do you know anything about it?"

Hermione figured it wouldn't be too strange in asking Lily about Peter. The Marauders were such a tight bunch that everyone knew about them so she assumed that Lily would think she was asking out of mild curiosity about the last member of the group. Hermione had been getting increasingly close with the three marauders and it was no secret. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that she would ask about the fourth one.

Lily looked at her puzzedly.

"What are you talking about? Peter Pettigrew? Who's that?"

Hermione stared at Lily. Surely she was joking. Yes, she hadn't seen him or heard anyone from Gryffindor mention him but that was just because not a lot of people were friends with the mousy boy.

"Oh! Are you talking about Peter Pettigrew from the Slytherin? The one who is in our year but barely attends any of the lectures?" Lily asked curiously.

Hermione's head spun with the possible implications of that statement. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong. Peter Pettigrew was in Slytherin. No, this couldn't be it.

"Hermione, are you alright? You look a little pale." Lily asked worriedly.

Hermione couldn't hear her voice. Her head was filled with too many frightening thoughts. She had had her suspicions but she had convinced herself that it wasn't possible. But this was the last proof she needed that something had gone horribly wrong with her last time-travel. But how was this possible! She needed to get out of here. It was dangerous - too dangerous to stay here any moment longer. This wasn't right.

Hermione stood up suddenly, her quill falling to the ground, barely making a sound. Lily was looking at her concernedly and a little puzzled. She didn't understand what was wrong with Hermione. She had been fine just a few seconds ago. Yes, how could Lily possibly understand what was going through her mind right now. Nobody could. Hermione's breathing sped as she mumbled an apology for her harried behaviour and made her escape from the Library. She wasn't even aware that she had packed her books in her bag. All her mind was focused on was getting away from there. She had to leave.

Hermione was in too much of a hurry so she didn't see that there was someone else in the hallway. He was walking towards her, looking at his arm and muttering under his breath so didn't notice the rushing witch until it was too late.

Bam!

They collided and fell. Hermione's bag fell, spilling all her books but she was too overwrought to notice any of it.

"Hey! Watch it Granger." Snarled a male voice.

But Hermione paid him no attention and rushed ahead. The male turned to look at her back curiously. There was something definitely off about her behaviour and he was too paranoid to call it anything but suspicious. Also, he finally had an opportunity to follow her. The witch was always on her guard. But for some reason, she seemed different just now. This was his chance.

Slowly, he began to follow her. She was almost running so he had to increase his pace to keep up with her. He didn't bother trying to be subtle since she didn't seem to be paying him any heed. The other students were too busy to notice his out of norm actions.

He frowned as she missed the turn towards the Gryffindor common room. She even passed the great hall. He wondered where she was going. She kept going up. Finally, she stopped on the seventh floor. He recognised the corridor. His eyebrows went up. For a new girl, she sure knew a lot about Hogwarts. He watched as she hurriedly paced back and forth before going in through the door that suddenly appeared in front of her. He debated for a second to follow her or not, but it was too good an opportunity to miss out on. So, he rushed in before the door could close.

He gasped as he took a look inside. It was dark. He could barely make anything out. There was a lone corridor stretching out. There were no windows and no doors, apart from a plain black one at the end of the corridor. The only light provided was by torches, which glowed with a blue-white light. The floor was also nothing like he'd seen before. It was comprised of dark marbles and they glowed eerily in the dark. What was this place? And how did she know about this? Too many questions surrounded the new witch and he was starting to understand why his lord was so fascinated to hear more about her. He could admit that even he was becoming curious about her, despite his best intentions not to.

He cursed suddenly. He had been too shocked by his surroundings and had lost sight of her. He tried looking for her but she was nowhere to be found. He tried opening the lone door but it wouldn't budge. He growled frustratingly. He'd had her! How could he have been so stupid to lose her. Dammit! He decided to wait for a few hours to see if she'd come back but she didn't. He waited until he could feel his stomach cramp in hunger. He hadn't eaten anything since morning and it was probably past midnight now and he was starving. He decided to give up for now. He'd searched every nook and cranny of the mysterious room, hoping for a clue but he didn't find anything.

He was frustrated and angry at himself. His mood was sour when he finally returned to the dorm. He was thankful that the elves had taken pity on him and given him something to eat. His thunderous expression deterred anyone from coming near him, except one person. He should have expected it really. That person had taken to keeping a close watch oh him recently and he didn't like it one bit. Sure, they agreed on a few things but it was still aggravating to have someone keep a check on his every move. He frowned harder as he saw him approach. He had been sitting in a lone corner, away from prying eyes and ears. He wanted to nurse his failure by himself and didn't want anyone's company. Especially, not his. But of course he didn't get the hint and came closer.

"Regulus." Regulus Black frowned at the lanky haired Slytherin in front of him. Sometimes he hated Severus Snape.

"Where were you? you missed dinner."

Regulus didn't say anything. He knew Severus didn't like it when he did that. He hated that sometimes Severus treated him like a kid even though they were only a year apart.

"None of your business."

Regulus smirked as he saw Severus' jaw tighten. His displeasure was evident. Severus and Regulus had started talking to each other since the beginning of his fifth year. Now he was in his sixth year. They had gotten close ever since Regulus had started on his path to follow Voldemort. In the beginning, he was excited to finally be a part of something big. His mother was happy with his choices and there was no elder brother to mock him, to judge him. He was free to do as he wished. But soon, it turned into a nightmare. What he had thought as a way to gain power, to establish himself in the world, had turned out to be nothing but a sham.

Regulus was proud enough to continue but he wasn't stupid enough to trust the dark lord again. After what he'd witnessed ... he shuddered in repressed horror. No, he definitely didn't want to have any part in that. That's how he had met Severus. Of course he knew of him and had even talked to him a couple of times before but this was different. One night, at a revel, when he had been too horrified to utter a word, his gaze wildly flitting around, he'd caught someone's eyes. He saw the same horror and disgust in Severus Snape's eyes and he knew that he had found an ally.

From then on, they had gotten together a couple of times to discuss things in private. They kept their furtive actions hidden and sparse, in order to avoid any suspicion. Recently, Severus had changed and now behaved as if he had to look after Regulus. As if! He could look after himself. He didn't need anyone to protect him.

"Regulus, you know you can tell me anything." Severus whispered furiously, suddenly leaning close and staring at him.

Regulus shrugged and averted his gaze. Part of him wanted to tell him what he saw today but part pf him wanted to keep it a secret for sometime longer. He decided to go with the latter.

"There's nothing to tell Severus. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish my potions assignment. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Regulus walked away, ignoring Severus' hiss of displeasure. He didn't know if he was making a mistake in keeping what he'd witnessed a secret or not. Only time would tell.

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A/N - Thank you for reading, favouriting and reviewing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** All the recognisable characters are owned by J.K.R. No money is being from this story. I only own the Plot.

Please Review and Enjoy.

* * *

Hermione sighed. She was so tired. After Lily's comments, she had practically stalked the seventh year Slytherin who went by the name Peter Pettigrew and sure enough, he was the man she remembered, or at least he looked like him. She assumed he was the only Peter Pettigrew she cared to know about in this timeline. His physical appearance might be the same but he was definitely not the cowering pug-faced wizard she remembered. Though, he often missed classes for reasons she suspected were related to good old Voldy, he was a typical Slytherin bully when he did show up. Rude, brash, arrogant and cruel.

And here she thought, the many-worlds interpretation was just a theoretical aspect of Quantum Mechanics. She had never believed it. Hermione snorted internally. She was a witch who travelled through time so why was the idea of many worlds such a hard pill to swallow. Maybe Hermione didn't want to admit it for fear of its' implications with regards to time travel. But she couldn't put the wool over her own eyes anymore. Hermione had to admit that it was very much possible that she had not only travelled back in time, but to another reality or _world_ altogether. It explained why it took so much of her magic to start the machine. It also explained the peculiarities of this time line - like the rivalry between Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

Hermione, in her time, had completely removed herself from the muggle world but she did know that many scientists who studied the many-world interpretation of Quantum Mechanics believed it to be unreal. Even the realists explained it as mere conditional probabilities. No muggle genuinely believed in its' existence.

The wizarding community on the other hand, wasn't technicality advanced enough to postulate the theory of alternate realities. It might seem silly if one thought about it. Since, many Arithmancy masters played with predicting the future based on arithmetic calculations but they were rigid in considering only one timeline. She might very well be the first person to travel across time rather than through time. This probably meant that Hermione had no way to go back to her time, or her world.

Hermione admitted, if grudgingly, that sheer panic was her first reaction upon realising what Lily's innocuous statement implied. But she was past that now. She'd had enough time to absorb the information and she was already making plans to change her timeline to act here. If this was another world, then it was quite possible that major and even minor figures in her battle against the dark might behave differently to similar stimuli. This also meant that her future predictions might not be infallible. She would probably have to change a lot of her game plan. Hermione didn't mind honestly. It was more exciting this way.

She paused. And cursed. Dammit! Why was her inner Gryffindor making this to be a game. Sometimes her recklessness was on par with Harry. Hermione sighed fondly as she thought about the dark haired man. How she missed him. During times like this, he would just grin and with excitement visible in his eyes, come up with bold strategies with a confidence that sometimes staggered her. The plus point of it was, she was usually the cautious one. But he wasn't here now and Hermione thought, sardonically that she was being reckless enough for both of them - at least in her mind. The physical implementation of, however, it still made her wary.

Hermione looked at her watch to see if she had enough time to do some research. She was awfully glad that some wizard had finally realised that even they could use analogue, non-electric watches to see time. Had she gone further back, she probably would have been irritated by the lack of the handy little tool.

She was actually in the Room of Requirements currently. She didn't want anyone to disturb her. She thanked the room for providing her a place for some with uninterrupted time, before hurrying towards the library. She had around two hours to spare and she wanted to find whatever hints she could about alternate realities. Hermione had a feeling that she would have to make a foray into the restricted section. This was hardly an everyday topic.

She smiled absently at the people who nodded and waved at her. She might have paused to have a few words with some of them but she was on a mission right now. She quickly made her way to an empty corner and glanced around subtly before crossing over to the restricted section. She didn't want any overly curious student following her around.

She whispered a spell to illuminate her surroundings. She made sure the glow wasn't bright enough to attract anyone's attention. The restricted section was always so dark and dingy compared to the main library. It smelled of moth-eaten books and musty, slightly mouldy smell from the old wooden shelves. It was almost as if it was deliberately designed to keep students out. It was definitely not a fun experience being there.

She found a few texts after browsing through several long minutes. All of them were obviously related to time-travel. But none were useful. After some time, she found one small, thin notebook which she thought might be of some interest. It was written by an Unspeakable who worked with time in the Department of Mysteries before deciding to leave his job to pursue his passion for Arithmancy. She opened it carefully. The book was very fragile. The pages were yellowed and frayed, the binding was coming undone and some of the words were so light she could hardly make them out. She blew an errant curl in frustration as she saw the whole book was written in runes and not just any old runes. No, the man was obviously paranoid enough to write the book in the oldest runic language in the world - Elder Futhark. It was said to be used in the parts of Europe which were home to Germanic peoples, including Scandinavia. Knowing the origins for any runic language was always important as it helped in understanding the language.

Hermione had a feeling that it might just take her the remaining time she had left at Hogwarts to successfully translate the whole book. But that didn't border her ... much. She could be patient when it was needed.

She had some time remaining so she scrounged through the entire section in hoped of finding some more useful books. To her slight frustration, the only useful thing she found was that little book. But she did find a book on runic history through ages. It was as good a start as any to learn about a whole new language. Her previous studies in Runes only helped in identifying which types it was. Hermione didn't realise where the time went as she flipped through the pages. It was all quite fascinating really.

It talked about the three best-known runic alphabets : The Elder Futhark (around 150–800 AD), the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc (400–1100 AD), and the Younger Futhark (800–1100 AD). The Younger Futhark was divided further into the long-branch runes (also called Danish, although they were also used in Norway, Sweden and Frisia), short-branch or Rök runes (also called Swedish-Norwegian, although they were also used in Denmark) and the stavlösa or Hälsinge runes (staveless runes). The Younger Futhark developed further into the Medieval runes, and the Dalecarlian runes. Hermione wasn't familiar enough with Elder Futhark to confidently say that the whole book was written in it. It might be a combination of the three different types of runes mentioned in the book.

She went on to read about the origins of all three in more depth. Hermione was so lost that it was the voice of Madam Pince shouting at a student that jolted her out of world of knowledge. She looked at the time and gasped softly. It was well past curfew, even for the seventh years. She quickly and silently kept the books back in place except for the two she planned to smuggle out. She non-verbally caste a few notice-me-not and sound numbing spells to prevent any detection and quietly slipped out from the library.

Hermione made her way to the Gryffindor common room. The hallways were silent except fro the odd ghosts hovering here and there. She whispered the password and sighed as the warmth of the common room seeped into her very pores. She loved coming back to the cozy comfort of her common room after a long hard day. She hadn't realised how tired she was.

The room was mostly empty so she took a seat in one of the squishy sofas in front of the fireplace. The restricted section was always so cold that Hermione was always glad to leave from there. She stretched her arms and back and closed her eyes. Her lips twisted in a pleased smile as she felt her body slowly warm up. She cleared her mind of all the troubling thoughts and just relaxed for a few minutes. She had learned to appreciate the beauty of such moments after the war.

Hermione thought about the only thing that didn't worry her or make her muscles tense in agitation - her relationship with James. He was such a surprise in many ways. So many from the marauders generation portrayed him as a prankster in his Hogwarts days, but so few actually talked about the depth within. While they hadn't had the opportunity to be together for more than a handful of minutes since their interlude in the RoR, Hermione had gotten the chance to simply sit and talk with him without any interruptions. She remembered the first time it happened. It was around the same time at night and Hermione had been quite tired from all the plotting and figuring the discrepancies of the time line and so she was relaxing in the common room.

 _Flashback_

Hermione sighed. She didn't know what to do anymore. Here she was, a veteran time-traveller who could even go forward in time but she couldn't even figure out what was bothering her. Her post-war memories were hazy and the long life she lead felt almost unreal. She felt like she was sixteen all over agin, which was funny considering by all intent and purpose, she was just a sixteen year old ... well seventeen really but who was counting.

She was sitting in one of the chairs in the Gryffindor common room, staring at the burning fire. She didn't move when she heard the door swing and a set of footsteps coming her way.

"Hey love, miss me?"

Hermione closed her eyes and smiled. James. She was suddenly so glad to hear his voice. She didn't know how much she had missed him. They hadn't had any alone time since RoR.

"Hey." Hermione said softly as she turned her head to look at her boyfriend, clad in his Quidditch robes. He looked tired and worn out, but still happy.

"How was the practice?"

While Hermione had been busy with her various projects, James was kept busy because of rigorous Quidditch training. It was his last year and he didn't want to have any regrets. Though she did hear some of the younger students complaining about the extra work.

James shrugged as he pulled his outer robe off and took a seat next to her. The common room was almost empty as it was well past midnight. She had seen the tired looking Gryffindor team drag their muddy boots in around curfew. James had not been among them and when asked, some boys frowned before muttering that their captain had gone bonkers and wanted to fly some more. She had smiled at that. James was much mores serious about Quidditch than she thought and it was an amusing sight to see his team complaining about the torture he put them through before important games.

"It was fine. Better than I thought actually but I'm glad it's over. For the first time, I was actually looking forward to something more than flying."

James was smiling at her. Hermione stared at his handsome face. He looked tired but content. Neither said anything as they enjoyed the cozy warmth of the fire and the comfortable silence.

"So what were you doing till so late at night?"

James threw a sly glance at her to ruffle her feathers but she just rolled her eyes.

"Definitely not what you wanted me to do."

"Ah! You wound my heart Miss Granger. You know I only want the best for you." James put a hand on his chest and pouted.

Hermione laughed and shook her head.

"I'm almost afraid to ask what you imagined I was doing."

"Well ..." James trailed off as he looked at her. He had a glazed expression as if he was imagining something particularly naughty. He shook his head and coughed, adjusting his pants slightly.

Hermione smirked. She found that she loved seeing James all hot and bothered. Of course, it was mutual. She herself had some fantasies about him. Specially when he looked so dashing in his Quidditch robes. Hermione's own cheeks pinkened as she remembered one particular fantasy. She wasn't blushing per se. Maybe the heat was getting to her.

"Yes, well let's leave our fantasies to where they belong - inside our head." Hermione muttered.

Too late, she realised her mistake.

" _Our_ fantasies? Well well, someone's been hiding things from me."

Hermione threw a pillow at him as he laughed.

"So what? Sue me if even I have fantasies about my boyfriend."

James' smirk softened into a smile as he looked at her.

"I like that. Being called your boyfriend."

Hermione smiled back. Yes, she definitely liked calling him that. It gave her a giddy feeling insider her stomach.

"You know this is the first time we're just sitting and relaxing together. It feels good." Hermione said softly.

James hummed in agreement.

"So how've you been? We haven't gotten much time lately to talk lately, among other things." James teased.

Hermione laughed and stretched, her tiredness gone.

"I'm good. I talked with Lily. We had a lot more in common that I thought. It felt good to talk to her. She's an amazing girl."

Most might consider that Hermione wanted some assurance with her earlier statement but truth was, she actually liked Lily as a person. She was confident and secure enough to talk about it with James and James respected that.

James nodded. He was glad there was no tension between Lily and Hermione. While he no longer had any feelings for the red-haired witch, he still wanted her around as a friend.

"How're your sessions with the younger students going?"

"You know about that?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"You kidding? The whole school probably knows about it. Your two little fans did a good job singing your praises all throughout the school." James grinned.

Hermione three another pillow at him lightly.

"Don't you make fun of my precious students."

"Students eh?" James raised an eyebrow.

Hermione shrugged and smiled, "I don't know how it happened but Ellie and Sebastian have become a part of my life here now and I might have grown a tad bit fond of them."

James laughed, "Ooh someone dared to thaw Hermione Granger's 'I'm a total bad-ass' exterior! The nerve."

This time Hermione seriously threw a pillow at the annoying prat. Hard enough to knock off his glasses. She humphed in satisfaction.

They quieted down as some of the remaining students threw a glare their way.

James looked up after fixing his glasses and mock glared at her for breaking his precious glasses.

"Don't damage the good Granger. You can't afford the cost."

"Oh really?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow.

"Really." James growled, before tackling her to the ground.

Hermione emitted a small shriek as she fell but James was careful to not hurt her. She started giggling as he tickled her sides. Soon tears were running from her eyes as she gasped and laughed soundlessly.

"Enou ... Ah ... enough. I concede!" She managed to get the words out in between her laughing fits.

"Now you just need admit that James Potter is the reigning king of Hogwarts and the best boyfriend ever."

Hermione was shaking her head as he crouched over her. She tried resisting but James responded with another fierce tickle attack so she had to admit defeat and say the words out loud.

They lay sprawled on the floor after. It was only the tow of them now so Hermione felt no qualms in doing that. James moved so he was behind her, hugging her waist. She hummed as she felt his warmth next to her. His hand was softly stroking her waist as he cocked his head on his elbow and gazed down at her.

"You're beautiful Hermione." James said huskily, his eyes never leaving her face.

Hermione swallowed as she felt tears well up.

"You James Potter are the best boyfriend ever." Hermione whispered as she softly stroked his hair roughened cheek.

James closed his eyes and relaxed in her arms. They lay there for a while and talked about a few mundane yet precious topics. She told him about her favourite book as a kid, her favourite home cooked dish and the time she got hurt trying to make it herself. Since then, her mother had banner her from the kitchen but Hermione found ways to sneak back in. She was stubborn even as a six year old midget.

She told him about the friends she made at her muggle school and how she was often teased about hair and teeth and how some kids were scared about the strange things that kept happening around her. She told him how brave her parents had been in the face of seeing their daughter perform magic and how understanding they were of everything.

James listened to it all, quietly comforting her. When she was done, he started speaking softly. He spoke about his childhood home - The Potter Manor. About his parents and how pampered he was because he was an only child to a couple that thad lost all hope of having a child of their own. About how once he'd thought that elves were tiny gods sent to play with little children and how he had cried when he had found and lost his first animal friend - a beautiful golden retriever pup.

They shared a few more precious tidbits about their lives before the fire and the comfort of their surrounding lulled them into a deep sleep.

That's how Sirius and Remus had found them the next morning - wrapped in each others arm, with a blissful smile on their faces. Sirius had teased them for days

 _End of Flashback._

Hermione smiled, a little giddily as she thought about the time she got to spend with James. He was quickly becoming someone very precious to her. She might even come to love him if things continued like this. She stretched and with one last look at the place where she and James had dozed off, she went upstairs to the girls' dormitory and called it a day.

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 **A/N** \- Thank you for reading, favouriting and reviewing. Special thanks to those who've been regularly reviewing the previous chapters. You guys encourage me to write faster :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** All the recognisable characters are owned by J.K.R. No money is being from this story. I only own the Plot.

Please Review and Enjoy.

* * *

Peter Pettigrew smiled as he thought about the new task their lord had given him. He was proud to be a part of his innermost circle comprising of the most trusted death eaters. Even the potions prodigy - Severus Snape, was not yet a part of the inner circle. He had worked hard to prove his worth to the dark lord.

Peter had been working since his fifth year to acclimatise his house mates and the whole school by taking smaller leaves. He knew the dark lord might want to send him to do more dangerous tasks so he'd used the pretext of his mother being severely ill to be absent. By now, almost everyone knew of him but nobody knew much about him and he liked to keep it that way. Peter was a very smart young man and one of the most ruthless death eater. He wanted to keep his skills a secret from everyone including the other death eaters. You never know when someone might betray you and Peter was paranoid enough to not give anyone a reason to one up him.

He had been away for a little over a month now because his lord had given him the task of ... convincing the vampires to join their cause. Peter was always very good at convincing others. He had a repertoire of curses that helped him with the task and if nothing worked, there were always good old unforgivables. Of course they grew boring after a while but he was creative so it helped with the boredom. Convincing the vampires took longer than he thought. Peter didn't want to admit it but they were a tough bunch. He had to burn a few of the young ones and drain a local master before they took him seriously but he was happy with the results. He couldn't wait to tell his lord about his success.

Peter directly apparated to the Riddle Manor. The inner circle had permission to enter the manor as and when they wished. Of course, their access was solely restricted to the outermost area of the manor including the gardens, the entryway and the hallway. No one was permitted to go beyond it without their lord's express permission.

He walked along the mostly silent hallway, ignoring the servants tittering about and the few death eaters from the outer circle. Only the inner circle had their lord's mark and the rest were expendables.

"Peter! Welcome back. How was your trip?"

He looked to see a man in his thirties walking his way with a smile. He was a young aristocrat, not belonging to the sacred twenty-eight. While his blood was not as pure, he had plenty of gold and was easier to sway. Peter sniffed disdainfully at the man. He was a mere pawn and was only useful for his money. His skill with the wand was pitiful and the simpering fool was always buttering up to the inner circle members.

"What do you want Macarthy?"

Macarthy laughed nervously as his eyes shifted to the side. He could never look at anyone in the eye.

"Just heard that you're back. So, I just wanted to welcome you back. There has been a lot of changes here which I thought you might want to know about."

Now he looked smug. As if! If Peter wanted to know about something important, Macarthy would be the last person.

"And you thought I might come to you with questions?" Peter raised a brow mockingly as his lips curled in derision.

Macarthy flushed.

"No! I ... ah ... I thought ... Forgive me, You're right. I just wanted to tell you a little about what's been happening."

Peter frowned. Not because the man looked ready to cry but because of what he'd said earlier. He had been gone for a long time and the place he had gone to was not connected to the rest of the world so he had been cut off from everything. He wondered what had happened while he was gone. Surely nothing that newsworthy.

Peter looked at the man, mumbling about some inane thing and hurriedly brushed him of while walking forward. He had better things to do than waste his time with the idiot. He reached the Thunka Painting and whispered a spell to let his Lord know he wanted entry. He waited for several minutes before the painting glowed softly, letting him know their lord was inside, waiting for him.

With another murmured spell, he stepped through the painting and directly to the study where his lord usually sat. He knelt and waited for his lord.

"Peter. Tell me about the vampires." Lord Voldemort hissed from above him.

Peter didn't raise his head as he replied respectfully.

"The vampires agreed my lord. They required a little more persuasion than I anticipated but we have the support of eight out of ten of the master vampires and their subject vampires. The remaining two are the sourdre de sang. They're the head of their bloodline and so old that they no longer choose to interact with humans. They're feared even among the vampires and no one had seen or heard of them in over five centuries."

Lord Voldemort was silent as Peter finished with his report.

"The remaining two do not matter. If they prove to be a thorn in my plans, they will be eliminated." Voldemort hissed.

"Apart from that, you did good my loyal servant. You have made me proud." The sibilant voice whispered.

Peter basked in his lord's praise.

"Look up Peter. I have another task for you."

"You are to look after a babe with another of my follower. Do not ask him any questions but make sure to keep an eye on him. The child is extremely important. You are under no circumstances to reveal anything about her to anyone. You will die before you reveal any information." The dark lord ordered.

Peter nodded in understanding. He could tell this was a very important task and he was proud to be of service to his lord.

"You will keep going to Hogwarts while taking leaves. The location of the house will remain unknown until I tell you. You will forget it once you leave the house."

The dark lord told him some more details about his mission before ordering him to leave. Peter was a cunning young man. He knew this would take priority above all else. But it was too hushed to cause much stir so he wondered what Macarthy wanted to tell him. Maybe he would find out before leaving for Hogwarts.

Peter was quite excited to return to Hogwarts. He would be just in time for the last Quidditch match between the Slytherins and the useless Gryffindors. They did not have much in the brain department but unfortunately, they did have some decent flyers. But he was looking forward to seeing them utterly humiliated on the field. It didn't matter how good the Gryffindor Quidditch team was, he had a trick he'd perfected during his travels. It would be his parting gift to the house of morons. Peter grinned maliciously as he apparated to Hogsmeade.

* * *

"Prongs hurry up! We have to reach before everyone else!" Sirius shouted.

He and Remus were waiting for James in the common room. Sirius was already in his Quidditch uniform and was impatiently waiting for his friend. He was literally shaking in excitement and Hermione couldn't help snort in amusement as he made a hole in the carpet with his frantic pacing.

"Why don't you relax for a while? The game is still an hour away so there's plenty of time." Hermione said.

Sirius turned and glared at her. He stopped pacing and approached her.

"Hermione! How can you even say that! You do not understand how important it is to be at the pitch ... like right now!" Sirius shouted while looming over her.

She slanted a look towards the sandy haired man grinning at her.

"Let him be Hermione. He won't calm down until he's kissed the field." Remus rolled his eyes.

Hermione's lips quirked as she looked at the frantic black haired man. She didn't know he was so religious about the game. It would have been funny to tease him but the poor man looked ready to loose it any second.

"James Potter! You get your ass here right now or I'm frenching your girlfriend in front of everyone!" Sirius bellowed.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Oh you think I'm joking Granger? If your boyfriend doesn't get his lily white ass here pronto, then your lips are mine! Mark my words." He pointed his finger at her imperially.

Hermione controlled her laughter and nodded seriously. He might actually do it ... but still, it was funny.

"Calm your tiny tits Pads. I'm coming." James called from the boys' dorm.

Sirius frowned and tapped his foot impatiently.

Hermione had to look at Sirius' chest after that. She just had to.

Sirius caught her glance and smirked, "Wanna suck on my tits Granger?"

He grinned lasciviously while waggling his eyebrows.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Oh he thought he was being funny, eh. Well she had just the spell for him. She flicked her fingers and nodded smugly. Yep, that did the job.

Sirius frowned as he felt a weight on his chest. He looked down and shrieked. What in Merlin's saggy pants! He had boobs! Real, honest to god big fleshy tits!

Remus lost it and roared in laughter as he saw Sirius panicking while groping his chest.

"Hermioneee! What did you do? You give me back my tiny tits this instant! I have a match to win and I can't go like this." Sirius shouted while trying different spells to undo it.

Hermione smirked as she saw Sirius getting more and more ... screechy.

"What the hell? I was just kidding with the tiny tits mate. You didn't have to take it so seriously." James laughed as he came down.

Hermione looked to see her boyfriend in all his Quidditch glory and smiled.

"I take it this is your doing?" He asked, looking at her.

Hermione shrugged and smiled impishly.

"He was offering his tits so I just ... upgraded the package."

James shook his head. He reached her and pulled her in his arms. With a grin of his own, he drew her close and kissed her deeply. The kiss continued for several more minutes before someone coughed.

James growled and looked at Remus who was holding Sirius back. He looked ready to murder them both.

"So help me god, if you snog in front of me when you know we have to leave like right now, I will make you regret the day you decided to cross Sirius Black!"

Hermione laughed and finally took pity on the fuming man with his heaving chest and flicked her fingers to return him back to normal.

Sirius exhaled in relief as he felt his chest get back to normal.

C'mon now, we have no time to waste. I'll see you all at the field. Hurry Prongs." With a last parting glare, Sirius rushed to the field. Remus followed after waving at James and Hermione.

Now it was just the two of them.

James was still standing with his arms around Hermione's waist. He bent and nuzzled her neck, "Where's my good luck kiss witch?"

Hermione sighed and let her head fall back, "I thought I just gave you one."

"Uh-uh. That was my hello kiss to you. You, my dear girlfriend have yet to give me my kiss." James murmured as he took her earlobe in his mouth and softly sucked on it.

Hermione moaned softly and gripped James' shoulders. Her eyes closed as she felt James sucking on her neck.

She forced her eyes to open and gripped her boyfriend's head. She brought his face down and kissed his nose.

"There, that's your good luck kiss." Hermione smiled.

James pouted and stuck out his lower lip causing Hermione to laugh.

"Oh you big baby."

She reached up and pulled his lower lip and sucked lightly before biting on it. James arms tightened around her waist as he brought them closer.

"Now this is what I'm talking about." He growled before angling his head and kissing the daylights out of Hermione.

They both gasped as they parted. James looked pretty satisfied at the glazed expression on her swatted him lightly on the shoulders but she was smiling softly.

"Let's go before Sirius decides he's had enough waiting." Hermione said.

James nodded before entwining his fingers with hers and heading towards the Quidditch field.

"Are you ready to be amazed love?" James asked as he winked at her.

"Let's see what you got Mr Potter." Hermione blew a kiss at him as she left for the stands.

She waved at James as he walked towards players' changing rooms.

She climbed up the stands until she spotted Lily sitting with a book. The stands were slowly filling but there was still plenty of space as the game still had half an hour before starting.

"What took you so long? Sirius was just here complaining and muttering about pranking you." Lily asked as she closed her book.

Hermione sat down and looked at the field. Madam Hooch was busy laying some spells before the game began. She could see the Slytherin team enter in one big line.

"Nothing, was just wishing James good luck."

"That might explain Sirius' ire." She smiled knowingly.

Hermione threw her a look but Lily just laughed, "Don't give me that look. We both know it wasn't just _wishing_ him luck."

Hermione shook her head but didn't say anything. After all, Lily was right.

"So how are things? I noticed you started spending less time at the Library. I haven't seen you in days." Hermione asked.

Lily shrugged and averted her eyes. Her good mood seemed to vanish. Hermione grew concerned.

"What is it Lily?'

"Nothing Hermione. I just ... nothing really. It's what I deserve I guess." Lily muttered.

Hermione frowned at that.

"Lily ..."

"Hermione, it's really nothing. Let's talk about it later." Lily said.

Hermione nodded slowly. She could tell Lily didn't want to talk about it. If she had to guess, it might be something related to a certain Slytherin but she wasn't sure. What she did know was she was not letting it go. Lily and Severus used to be good friends and she could not see a friendship so deep, spoiled.

"Alright Lily, but we're definitely talking about it later." Hermione said.

Lily shook her head and smiled, "You know it's funny. Sometimes you almost seem like my big sister, or if I had a big sister."

Hermione swallowed. Her world swayed yet again.

"Are you an only child?" Hermione asked, dreading the answer.

Lily nodded, "Yep, mom and dad actually wanted two kids but there were some complications."

Hermione nodded as her mind blanked out for a moment. Petunia didn't exist in this world. This meant that the Dursleys were no more, or at least would not be in their lives. She didn't know yet what it meant but Hermione realised that this world was slowly becoming more and more unfamiliar. She knew the changes might get bigger as she spent more time. She just hoped it wouldn't be fatal.

"-ne. Earth to Hermione."

Hermione jolted back as Lily waved a hand over face,

"Where do you go sometimes? You get this blank look and it's really scary." Lily asked curiously.

Hermione managed a smile and shook her head. The stands were full now and both the teams were on the ground, shaking hands before starting the last match of the season. Thankfully Lily was soon distracted by the whistle signing the start of the game.

Hermione put the information where she noted all the discrepancies in her mind and focused on the game. There was not much she could do with the information after all. No use stressing over it.

The game had been going for an hour and Gryffindor was in the lead by twenty points. It wasn't much but it gave them more room to look for the snitch. James was doing a fine job of getting the Quaffle through the goal hoops. Majority of the points by the Gryffindor team were scored by him. Hermione felt fiercely proud of him. He looked so intense and focused. Sirius was also doing a fine job as a seeker. He was almost like a dog with a bone. Hermione laughed at her own joke.

After few more points scored by the team, Hermione started noticing something. The Gryffindor chasers seem to have a harder time with the Quaffles. She couldn't tell from the distance but the Quaffle seemed to have increased their speed slightly. It was too minute to tell.

Hermione focused intently on the game, ignoring all the shouting and jeering from the stands. She had a bad feeling about it. Sure enough, the Quaffles seemed to become more aggressive, but only towards players in the red and gold. She looked at the teachers' stand to see Madam Hooch frowning. She seemed to be undecided about it but Hermione had seen it before when someone messed with the game. Her first year came to mind. She quickly stood and walked towards the end of stands, to find a more inconspicuous place. She wasted precious minutes trying to find a place and by now, some of the players were having trouble with their brooms. Madam Hooch was striding towards the field with a thunderous expression on her face.

Hermione whispered a spell which would identify any curses or jinxes on any equipment. To her dismay, the Quaffles were showing a version of the blasting jinx. Oh this was not good. She hurriedly went about trying to nullify the effect of the jinx. It required a lot of focus since the jinxes were geared towards specific players. Who ever did it was smart. If her guess was right, it wasn't just any harmless jinx.

Hermione had just about a few more seconds. She focused harder and finally found a way to unravel the magic. It was linked with the person's signature so it took longer but she did it right before James hit a Quaffle with his bat. Hermione sighed in relief but it was too soon. She watched in horror as the Quaffle zoomed past a Gryffindor beater before heading towards the Slytherin Goal. The beater swayed wildly on his broom. The broom started vibrating before exploding into a thousand pieces. The beater took the blast head on and was falling to the ground. There were shouts as the crowd panicked. She saw the teachers hurrying to the ground. Hermione wanted to go as well but she caught movement in her peripheral vision.

She turned to see a man in green and silver robes hurrying away. He looked about her age and there was something familiar about his face. Hermione followed him until they were behind the stands, hidden from everyone's eyes. She gasped softly as the man turned around. Despite some clear differences, she recognised the face. Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing, or rather _who_ she was seeing.

Peter Pettigrew! She was finally seeing the Peter Pettigrew of this world and he was vastly different from the cowering man she knew. She had a really bad feeling about it.

* * *

 **A/N** \- Thank you for reading, favouriting and reviewing. Special thanks to those who've been continuously reviewing the previous chapters. You guys encourage me to write faster :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** All the recognisable characters are owned by J.K.R. No money is being from this story. I only own the Plot.

Please Review and Enjoy.

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"Who are you?" Peter sneered.

Hermione bit her lip as she decided on how to approach the situation. It was obvious she couldn't or rather shouldn't have known who he was. She really had no reason to follow him ... although ... she narrowed her eyes as an idea formed in her head.

"You're a Slytherin aren't you? I saw you running after the accident occurred on the field. I bet you're responsible for it. I've heard that Slytherins are a good for nothing lot, always making trouble for us Gryffindors."

Hermione scowled, hoping it wouldn't raise any suspicions if she acted like a typical Gryffindor. She was new so she knew that her actions or habits weren't familiar to the rest of the student body. Sure, a lot of them knew her to be impartial towards all four houses but she didn't think Peter knew that about her.

Peter's expression slipped into bored indifference as she spoke. She was nothing but a stupid Gryffindor. But how come he hadn't seen her before. Was she new. Hogwarts had never before accepted anyone new and she looked to be about his age. He would have to look into it more when he had some time but he didn't think she posed any threat to his plans.

"Trust Dumbledore to invite another stupid Gryffindor to Hogwarts. So where are you from?" Peter sneered.

Hermione scowled at him.

"What's it to you?"

Peter rolled his eyes and turned around. She was really of no interest to him. A brash, stupid Gryffindor really was too annoying.

"I'll let you off this time but the next time you decide to follow me around little Gryffindor, you will regret it." Peter remarked in a sinister voice as he sauntered off.

Hermione watched quietly as he walked off. She added an insulted gasp at the end to complete her act. Good, at least this way she'd buy some time and avoid some unneeded scrutiny. She was just turning around when she heard a snap. With a sharp turn, she pointed her wand towards the noise and sighed in relief when she spotted her favourite werewolf. But he didn't look as relieved when he met her eyes.

"Hermione ... ?"

Hermione internally winced as she spotted slight suspicion in his eyes. He had seen her around younger Slytherins plenty of times so of course her current behaviour appeared strange.

"Remus, is everyone alright?"

He nodded and waited for Hermione to say something else. He had decided to follow her when he saw her leaving the grounds. She had a very focused look in her eyes so he was curious to see where she might be off to, or who she might be meeting. To his shock, it was none other than Peter Pettigrew. Remus had never really liked him. He always smelled like a rat but he didn't have any proof to voice his displeasure so he had always kept his opinion to himself. Seeing Hermione's reaction had surprised him. She was not at all acting like herself. So much so that he started suspecting she was doing it on purpose but why would that be. So, Remus waited for Hermione to explain her actions.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Hermione asked wryly.

Remus' brows went up at that. He had expected her to be defensive or secretive but she just looked at him with wry amusement. He straightened to his full height. He hadn't had much one on one interaction with her but he knew she was different from any of the girls he knew. Clearly James was infatuated with her. Sirius was on his way so he knew there had to be something special about her but still, her reaction to being 'caught' was unexpected.

"Why did you ... why were you acting like that and did you know him before now?"

Hermione sighed and busied herself stashing her wand away. How to explain the complicated mess she got herself into. She didn't necessarily want to lie to him but she couldn't really explain him everything. What a conundrum! She decided to tell the partial truth.

"As you might have heard from James, my arrival here was a little ... unusual. I was not unaware of the rising terror of Voldemort even before arriving here so I knew that anything strange happening in Hogwarts might catch his attention."

Hermione paused to gauge Remus' reaction. So far he seemed to buy her reasoning but his furrowed brows said he was still dissatisfied so she continued.

"As you know, I have been meeting with Dumbledore and he warned me to be wary of some students, particularly the older Slytherins. I'd already heard about Peter from Lily so I decided to act like a typical Gryffindor to not raise his suspicion. That's pretty much why I decided to act the way I did. Upto you whether you want to believe me or not."

Hermione shrugged as she finished her explanation. In her eyes, it more than justified her actions.

Remus blinked. Well, if you look it like that, her actions made sense. He really couldn't say anything to that. There was a niggling voice at the back of his mind that protested but Remus ignored it for the time being.

"I suppose I can understand why you did what you did just now." Remus acknowledged begrudgingly.

Hermione smiled at him. He was so adorable when he was trying to be intimidating but his inherent gentle nature didn't let him be. Remus as a man was very gentle and she had learned that Moony, his wolf was actually very playful once the man and the wolf had made peace. But then, she didn't know if _this_ Remus would be the same. She constantly had to remind herself that the people here were different from the ones she knew. Sometimes, she felt so alone thinking about it. Surrounded by people she knew intimately yet they were now strangers.

"Hey, you alright?"

Remus looked at the girl in front of him worriedly. She had such a sad look on her face that he wanted to immediately reassure her.

Hermione looked at Remus and smiled.

"Shall we go back then?" She asked brightly.

Remus nodded hesitatingly.

They walked back to towards the Quidditch field, still busy thinking about what they'd just talked about.

"So why don't you play Quidditch?" Hermione asked curiously.

Remus glanced at the witch walking next to him. He's been asked this question a lot of times since his two best friends were in the team.

"I never really got into Quidditch that much. I know James and Sirius think its almost sacrilege to not be interested in the sport but I've always been more interested in being alive" Remus joked.

Hermione laughed, knowing full well what he meant. The amount of injuries Harry had accumulated because of Quidditch was more than enough to convince her of that.

"I'm surprised James and Sirius didn't drag you despite it to join the team." Hermione teased.

"Oh they tried their best. But apparently I sucked so bad that even they had to give up."

Remus looked so proud of sucking at Quidditch that Hermione couldn't help but let out another laugh.

"I see why you're a part of the marauders."

"Just because I don't act as wild as the other two doesn't mean I'm not proud of being a marauder." Remus winked.

Hermione shook her head. What do you know. This Remus wasn't as shy as her werewolf. She couldn't really say it was an unwelcome thing. She would have fun getting to know him better.

"What about you? Do you like Quidditch?" Remus asked curiously.

Hermione shook her head and smiled, "Oh no! I hate flying and heights. Combined, well its a recipe for disaster in my opinion.

"But you still attend every Quidditch match to cheer for James."

Hermione snorted.

"Let's just say, I've had enough practice watching people I care about trying to put their lives in danger while chasing after a couple of balls."

Remus guffawed.

They were both laughing when James and Sirius spotted them.

"Hey you two! I was just telling James that you both went for a quickie and what do you know, I was right!" Sirius waggled his eyebrows as he put his arms around Hermione and Remus.

Hermione rolled her eyes and looked at James. He was smiling while looking at her but she could detect a hint of worry in his eyes.

"How's your beater?" She asked softly while coming to stand next to him.

He shook his head, "he's okay. Still in shock. Most of them are upset that the game got over before deciding on the winner."

Hermione nudged his arm in support. She could tell he was also a little upset about it. It was the last game of the season after all.

"Did Madam Hooch say anything about rescheduling the game?" Hermione asked.

"Not at the moment. The teachers were more focused on making sure no one was hurt and trying to find the cause of it."

Hermione remained quiet. She didn't want to inform them who the real culprit was. At least here out in the open. Maybe once they were back in the privacy of their dorm, she might broach the topic of Peter.

"So how was it?"

It took all of them a moment to realise what Sirius was asking about. James and Hermione looked at each other. James winked before wrapping an arm around her and nuzzling her neck.

"Hermione was simply curious about our blonde friend over here so I told her to indulge while I was otherwise occupied ..." James trailed of as he looked at Sirius.

Sirius laughed and shook his head.

"Nice Joke mate."

James kept his expression straight as Sirius looked at him, then at Hermione and finally at Remus.

"Wait, you're not serious, are you?"

He looked between Hermione and Remus and James so fast that his neck cracked.

Hermione bit her lip and let her expression glaze a little as she blushed.

"Remus was ... quite animalistic."

James growled and pulled her closer and bit her ear lightly and Remus just blushed.

Sirius backed away as he looked at the trio.

"No, no, no! This cannot be true. Tell me you're lying. How could you'll do this to me! You left me behind!"

Sirius was in his full on whining mode as he kept on going about betrayal and wanting to be included.

Hermione couldn't take his expression any longer and burst out laughing. James was also grinning while holding his girlfriend close. Remus was just ruffling his hair while blushing a little. He also had a smile on his face.

Sirius stopped and looked at them suspiciously before pointing a finger at them accusingly, "I knew it! You were lying!"

He looked so offended that all three burst into laughter.

Sirius was still sulking by the time they reached the Gryffindor common room. Their spot near the fireplace was thankfully empty so Hermione and Remus went there to take a seat.

James and Sirius went to get changed so they could all relax and unwind after a busy day.

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. She treasured these good times. This time was so peaceful compared to hers and she knew it wouldn't last long but this made her even more determined to treasure these moments for as long as they lasted.

She had her eyes closed but she could still tell who came and sat next to her. She laid her head on her boyfriend's shoulders as they all just sat and talked softly about anything and everything. Sirius was done pouting and now was busy sharing details about his hot encounters with Quidditch obsessed fan girls.

"There you guys are! I've been looking all over for you guys."

Hermione opened her eyes to see Lily glaring at all of them with her hands at her waist. She was alone so Alice was probably off with her boyfriend.

"Hey Lily." Sirius greeted her.

The boys felt a little uncomfortable because it was the first time all of them including James Hermione and Lily were together in one place since the incident.

Lily and Hermione soon did away with any awkwardness however.

Hermione raised her head and nodded at Lily, who took a seat next to her.

"What's up Lily?" She asked.

Lily bit her lip and frowned.

"I wanted to talk about what happened in the field today."

The rest sat up. They hadn't discussed it properly but all of them had questions about what had happened.

Lily slanted a look at Hermione and Hermione knew that the red haired witch had seen her when she's chased after Peter. She nodded at the silent question and Lily took aa breath and continued.

"Just when things started to look bad, I noticed you look around the grounds. I caught you staring at Peter Pettigrew. I wanted to follow you but got caught in the crowd and lost sight of you both." Lily finished, looking questingly at Hermione.

Remus was also looking at Hermione. Now he remembered the niggling thought in his mind. She had explained why she'd been acting unlike herself but she never said why she was with Peter in the first place.

He gave Hermione a look.

"Is there something you guys want to tell us?" James asked as he caught the look Remus was giving his girlfriend.

Hermione looked at James. He didn't look worried, just curious.

"I recognised the spell that was cast on the Quaffle, well not recognised exactly but I knew someone had cursed it. So I was looking around to see if I could find anyone suspicious." Hermione explained.

"And that's why you decided to follow Peter?" Lily asked.

Hermione nodded, "He had his wand and I caught him muttering something before hurriedly leaving the grounds so I decided to follow him."

Remus nodded in agreement, "I saw her with Peter after that."

All of them were quiet as they processed what she just said.

"But why would Peter do that?" Lily asked.

"I don't know a lot about him but he never really behaved like some of the Slytherins in our year, who never lost any opportunity to curse us, or at least try to." Remus shrugged thoughtfully.

"Now that I think about it, don't you guys think he takes too many leaves from school. Is that even allowed?" James frowned.

"He has a sick mum." Lily offered as an explanation.

"I don't think that's possible." Remus said. He also had a sick mother. Her health wasn't perilous enough to take many leaves but he had tried in the beginning to ask for leaves to visit her whenever she got worse. His father of course wanted nothing to do with her or his kid so he'd tried his best to be there for her. The boys knew of his family troubled so they offered a sympathetic glance and nodded in agreement.

Lily and Hermione looked at the boys, then at each other. Clearly there was a story there. Hermione knew a little of Remus' early live, but not much. She could tell he had some skeletons in his closet.

"But how else can you explain his constant absence from school? The worst thing is, you don't need the permission from the headmaster to take short personal leaves if the head of your house is fully satisfied with your reason." Lily sighed in frustration.

Hermione frowned in contemplation. Slughorn wasn't exactly the sort to do his due diligence for such things. She could tell that the same thought had crossed through the minds of others.

"I don't think we're going to get any closer to solving the mystery of Peter Pettigrew sitting like this." Sirius proclaimed.

Hermione, along with others waited for him since he seemed to be getting ready to suggest another of his wild ideas.

"I say we follow him around. He has to be here for another week since it is the exam week so we keep a close eye on his every little action and try to figure out what's his deal."

Hermione bit her lip. She didn't want to give any credit to his idea but it wasn't a bad idea specially considering ... She threw a glance at James, only to see him share a conspiratorial glance with the other two boys. Yep, he still had his invisibility cloak and she could tell he, along with the remaining marauders, intended to make full use of it.

Hermione sighed. Guess she would have to sit this one out.

"And how're you planning on doing that unnoticed?" Lily demanded.

Hermione started. She'd forgotten that Lily might not be aware of the existence of the cloak. She looked at the three boys who tried their best not to look guilty. She shook her head. Really, they were hopeless.

"I'm sure they'll figure out a way by putting their marauding ways to good use." Hermione offered wryly.

James looked relieved and nodded.

Lily still looked unconvinced but let it go for the time being. She looked at Hermione and winked, "What do you suppose we should do then?"

Hermione laughed. Who knew Lily Evans had a tiny streak of mischief in her.

"I'm sure we'll come up with something Lils." Hermione smirked while enjoying the looks on the boys' faces

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 **A/N** \- Thank you for reading, favouriting and reviewing. Special thanks to my old reviewers. You guys encourage me to write faster :)


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